Tanya Tucker Reveals How Music Saved Her From Depression

During recent rough times in her life, including the loss of her mother and a botched medical treatment that almost ended her career, Tanya Tucker says making music helped pull her out of a "deep depression."

The 56-year-old explains that severe injuries from a cosmetic procedure almost made it impossible for her to sing.

“I went in for a simple dermal abrasion skin treatment. Something went wrong, and I suffered second- and third-degree burns all over my face, in my nose and down my lungs. It was awful,” Tucker tells Closer Weekly. “It also changed my voice, which has been another obstacle I’ve had to overcome. I’ve had to struggle to reach certain notes, which I never had to do before.”

The songstress thought her music career might be over, but music ended up being the thing that helped her.

“It threw me into a deep depression,” she reveals. “I probably spent half a million dollars on doctors. I took medications, did shock treatments and tried everything with the exception of being put into a straitjacket. And yet somewhere in the midst of all this, I cut 10 tracks for a new album!

“It’s my music that really saved me," she adds. "When people hear these songs, they will know [they] came from my heart.”

And once Tucker found her voice again, creating new songs was easy.

"I’ve really enjoyed being in the studio, more than I ever have," Tucker tells The Boot. "It used to be, it was a job — you know, come in, do my job and leave. But now, I’m the producer, so I get to be a part of everything, and I’m getting to do it, and if I don’t like it, I’ll go back and do something else."

No word yet on a release date for Tucker's new music. The singer currently has her own exhibit, "Tanya Tucker: Strong Enough to Bend" at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit will be open through May 2015.