'Best Of My Love' - Tanya Tucker version or La Costa Tucker version?

Country stars Tanya Tucker and La Costa Tucker are sisters. During the 1970s, they both recorded interpretations of the song 'Best Of My Love,' which was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Of these versions, which is your favorite?

La Costa Tucker (far left) and Tanya Tucker (far right)

'Best Of My Love' as recorded by Tanya Tucker

Tanya Tucker

 

'Best Of My Love' as recorded by La Costa Tucker

La Costa Tucker

Sisters always: Tanya and La Costa

 

I voted La Costa.
I prefer the production.

 

Any idea how old Tanya was when this was recorded? Between 13 and 15. Originally unissued on her three Columbia LPs it was compiled on the You Are So Beautiful album after she signed with MCA on her 16th birthday. LaCosta is older so there is that.
For all that I vote for the Tanya outtake

 

bump!

 

Definitely. I'd estimate she was about 15 when this session took place earlier in 1974. Tanya apparently signed the deal with MCA on her birthday, which is in October. La Costa's enjoyable version was released in 1975 and she is roughly 7 years older than Tanya. In my mind both ladies are equally talented, but Tanya's younger age probably gave her a broader appeal at that time when connecting with a wider audience.

 

Pretty easy on the eyes too.

Always helps in a career within the Entertainment industry.

 

Glen thought so too!

 

Definitely. La Costa's earlier albums had great production and she was recording material of a high quality during that stretch. Her interpretation of this song exudes confidence while maintaining energy as well. We desperately need for her first several studio albums to be officially released on CD. Hopefully BGO Records or Morello Cherry Red can finally bring these albums back in print in the near future.

 

Great and very informative thread! Thank you.

 

As always Mel, you've educated me on another artist.
I'd never heard of La Costa, even seen a La Costa record/CD here.
BGO/Morello-Cherry Red is the way to go here.
They are almost the last of representing the original albums on CD as they were.

 

That's quite an age difference, although Glen still retained his good looks and charm. I recall the rumors when they were dating, but often assumed they were attempting to create hype for their duet songs. It's also been said that Tanya dated Merle Haggard for a short time as well.

Merle Haggard with Tanya

Tanya discusses her relationship with Glen Campbell

 

Don't feel bad. Lots of folks over here never heard of her either. She never had any massive hits, although she put on a hell of a live show. Being the older sister of a prodigy like Tanya and starting her own career at an appropriate age left her at a disadvantage. She dropped her last name to blur the connection with her sister, although there was no real separation between them. I think her label had something to with it.
In any case, as good as LaCosta was she ended up as a mid charter and a footnote. The curse of having a hugely famous relative I guess. She really deserved better. In that she reminds me very much of Stella Parton.

 

Usually Mel is the originator, but this time around he's riding my coattails. I've been leading the charge for LaCosta around here (include writing to BGO, Cherry, and others to get LaCosta on CD).

But in this case my vote goes to Tanya.

 

Thanks JamieC for posting that.

 

Fixed.

 

We have a thread with some great videos and even our host's participation. Join us there. And don't forget to write to these labels requesting for LaCosta's albums. With Tanya back in the limelight it should be easier than ever to convince someone to put out a 2fer of her albums.

 

I vote for......The Emotions!...

 

Didn't help that when she was being interviewed on TV and in the press they'd immediately out her as Tanya's sister. That and them being practically twins in face and voice.

 

Speaking of things that aren't on CD...none of the songs Tanya and Campbell did together are on CD as far as I know. Not even on either artists' comps. Something funny about that. Maybe the master tapes are gone? (None of Tanya's Universal albums are on CD.)

 

@stevehoffmanfan come join us in the Tucker sister shoot-out.

 

From what I can gather it seems that Tanya was more prone to playing ball with the industry, and perhaps even enjoyed it. Because LaCosta had so few albums in comparison, it's probably not quite fair to compare them to each other, but I think if LaCosta had stuck around I may've enjoyed her output better overall. She has the stronger voice. But on the other hand, how could anyone not love Tanya and her rocky yet productive career? She literally has classic albums in every post-60s era of country music. Next to Mike Nesmith she's easily my all-time favorite country artist. (She's really fun in the movie Georgia Peaches too).

 

Dream Lover is on CD. Has Raven or BGO released Glen's World Gone Crazy?

 

For those interested LaCosta is on CD once, a comp album made up of songs of her and Tanya. It's called Sisters and ain't cheap/easy to find, but is the only way you'll get anything from her on CD at this time.

Tanya Tucker & LaCosta Tucker* - Sisters - An Anthology

 

The song or the album? There's a needledrop boot of the album on CD but I've never seen a legit release. And I've never seen the song on a Tanya comp. Perhaps it's on a Glenn one?