“The Man That Turned My Mama On“ is a song written by Ed Bruce….and recorded by American country music artist Tanya Tucker….which was released in June 1974 as the second single from the album “Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)”….as the song reached # 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
The song speaks of the narrator’s wish that she could have known more about her father….who a traveling salesman that met her mother….and quickly married her….as the lyrics indicate that the quick marriage was more of an elopement than of a shotgun marriage…..since “Grandma Kate”….as the narrator’s grandmother who raised her mother to be a proper lady….and likely would not have approved of the relationship…..for unlike other songs where the father is absent due to abandonment….cuz in this song the father died of illness when she was only five.
Songwriter Ed Bruce recorded the song for his own 1978 album “Cowboys and Dreamers”; released as a single, it made number 70 on the country charts….and as seen in this video herewith….he and The Tennessee Cowboy Band play “The Man Who Turned My Mother On” live on stage at Austin City Limits in 1983.
