Before Faith Hill: LaCosta Tucker’s Original “It Matters to Me” Is a Country Gem
Artists give us loads of good songs, many hits, timeless ones but sometimes do we ever sit down to wonder about the crazy journey it took before it even touched the mic? We all know Nashville to be famous for crazy behind-the-scenes stories, but this one right here takes the cake I think. Years before Faith Hill turned “It Matters to Me” into a massive multi-platinum chart-topper, 1970s country trailblazer LaCosta Tucker had already laid down her own original recording of the track. It’s like how many didn’t even know Dolly Parton was the originator of the famous Whitney Houston “I Will Always love you” hit, this is also another surprise.
Now, LaCosta is opening up her personal vaults to share her original version of “It Matters to Me“. And I think this give country fans a rare, incredible look and feel at how a classic song sounds when sung by the pioneer who first fell in love with it. What’s beautiful about LaCosta’s version of “It Matters to Me” is its rich, traditional Nashville arrangement and warm, organic mix. The track opens beautifully with this gentle acoustic guitar picking backed by smooth, weeping pedal steel lines that give the melody an instant dose of classic heartbreak.
To me, LaCosta’s vocal delivery takes the crown here, the way her smooth voice sounds rich, natural and and full of lived-in experience is wholesome. Many artists would have cluttered it with a lot of modern production, but she slides through the verses with effortless control, letting subtle vibrato and pure country twang carry the weight of every line. Such uniqueness is rare these days where everyone is trying to sound the same.
“It Matters to Me” deals with the frustrating, quiet distance that creeps into a relationship when two people stop communicating. Then this question pops up, why do people in relationships even stop communicating? Well these days it just happens, you can be in relationship with someone and before you realize you’re all alone in the relationship. They just ghost when things gets tough or when they not interested again. But to actually communicate it to you so you can know your stand, never!
The track does well in laying emphasis on those painful moments when a partner gives you the silent treatment, acting like nothing is wrong while the emotional wall between you grows taller. The funny thing is, you’d be asking them to tell you if something’s wrong countless times, but they’d never, they will just repeat the everything is fine line all the time. It’s crazy, a line in the song that says “How can I make you see, it matters to me” captures that desperate urge to fix things up before the love completely fades away. But sometimes all your efforts just goes in vain cos they ain’t ready to even fix it, they just wanna go and be left alone, yet they can’t voice it out cos probably they enjoy that attention you give them and wouldn’t wanna loose that.
The song is really an emotional piece that carries a deep message about vulnerability and fighting for real connection. Yeah, you want it, but they don’t want it, they only want it when all their other options aren’t available, making you feel like an afterthought. The song reminds us that ignoring a problem never makes it disappear, and staying silent usually hurts much worse than speaking up. LaCosta Tucker has given us a beautiful piece of country music history with her original release of “It Matters to Me“. It’s soulful, classic, and packed with incredible vocal heart. So go give it a listen and enjoy let that person know that it indeed does matter to you!
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