What's Your Mama's Name

Tanya Tucker

About What's Your Mama's Name

"What's Your Mama's Name" is a song written by Dallas Frazier and Earl Montgomery, and recorded by American country music artist Tanya Tucker. It was released in February 1973 as the first single and title track from the album What's Your Mama's Name. The song was Tucker's fourth hit on the country chart and her first number one. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the chart. On the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, it reached number eighty-six. Tammy Wynette also recorded an unreleased version of the song in the early 1970s. Her version was never officially released till after her death in 1998. 


Year:
2003
90 
#1

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Thirty some odd years ago
A young man came to Memphis
Askin' 'bout a rose that used to blossom 
In his world
People never took the time 
to mind the young man's questions
Until one day they heard him ask 
a little green eyed girl

[Chorus:]
What's your mama's name child
What's your mama's name
Does she ever talk about
A place called New Orleans
Has she ever mentioned
A man named Bueferd Wilson
What's your mama's name child
What's your mama's name

Twenty some odd years ago
A drunk went down in Memphis
Lost a month of life and labor 
To the county jail
Just because he asked a little green eyed girl a question
And offered her a nickel's worth of candy if she'd tell

A year and some odd days ago
An old man died in Memphis
Just another wayward
So the county had to claim
Inside the old mans ragged coat
They found a faded letter
It said you have a daughter
And her eyes are Wilson green

[Chorus]
What's your mama's name child
What's your mama's name
Does she ever talk about
A place called New Orleans
Has she ever mentioned
A man named Bueferd Wilson
What's your mama's name child
What's your mama's name

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Tanya Tucker

Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958, in Seminole, Texas) is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood without losing her audience, and during the course of her career, she notched a streak of Top 10 and Top 40 hits. She has had several successful albums, several Country Music Association award nominations, and hit songs such as 1973's "What's Your Mama's Name?" and "Blood Red and Goin' Down," 1975's "Lizzie and the Rainman," and 1988's "Strong Enough to Bend". more »

3 fans

Written by: Dallas Frazier, Earl Montgomery

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

ARTIST FACT
"What's Your Mama's Name" was performed by Tanya Tucker, not Tammy Wynette. Although both female artists are iconic figures in country music, this song is better associated with Tucker.
SONG HISTORY FACT
The song was released in March 1973 as the first single and title track from the album "What's Your Mama's Name".
CHART SUCCESS FACT
The song was Tanya Tucker's first number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and it stayed there for two weeks.
AWARDS FACT
It also helped Tucker achieve her first nomination for a major award, receiving a nod at the 1973 CMA Awards for Single of the Year.
LYRICS FACT
The song tells a story of a man, mentally impaired from birth due to his mother's alcoholism, who is looking for his long-lost daughter.
WRITERS FACT
The song was written by Dallas Frazier and Earl Montgomery. Dallas Frazier was also known for writing “Elvira,” a major hit for the Oak Ridge Boys.
MUSIC VIDEO FACT
The music video for "What's Your Mama's Name" showcases Tanya singing in various settings, including outdoor locations and a dark room with a spotlight.
ALBUM SUCCESS FACT
The eponymous album "What's Your Mama's Name" also gained significant success and is often noted as one of the best albums in Tanya Tucker's career.
COVER VERSION FACT
The song has also been covered by other country artists, most notably by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty on their 1973 album, "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man."
LEGACY FACT
The success of "What's Your Mama's Name" played a huge role in establishing Tucker as one of the teenage phenomenons in the country music industry, an image that would follow her for much of her early years.

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    "What's Your Mama's Name Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/11943289/Tanya+Tucker/What%27s+Your+Mama%27s+Name>.

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    What's Your Mama's Name

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    Top Hot 100 Songs 1973

    Billboard #86


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