Marshall Tucker Band

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The Marshall Tucker Band

Country	United States
Years active	1972—
Genres	Southern Rock, Country Rock, Rock
Labels	Capricorn Records, Ramblin' Records
Members	Doug Gray Pat Ellwood Chris Hicks Stuart Swanlund B.B. Borden David Muse

The Marshall Tucker Band is a Southern rock band.

Originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina, the band formed in 1972 and soon signed with Capricorn Records. In 1973 they released their first EP, The Marshall Tucker Band.

Compared to Southern rock pioneers and label-mates The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band had a more country and western feel, with the flute being a key lead instrument in their sound. "Can't You See", "Fire on the Mountain", and "This Ol' Cowboy" are among their songs that received appreciable FM radio airplay, while "Heard It in a Love Song" made it to #14 as a single on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.

Original bassist Tommy Caldwell died in a car crash on April 28, 1980. His brother, guitarist Toy Caldwell, died of heart disease on February 25, 1993.

The Marshall Tucker Band still plays up to 150 shows in a year. They are currently with Ramblin' Records.

[edit] Band name origin

There was no band member named "Marshall Tucker". Originally, the band called itself The Toy Factory (named after lead-guitarist Toy Caldwell). But by the time the band released its first album they had become the Marshall Tucker Band. During a radio interview in Hempstead, New York in 1973, Tommy Caldwell explained the origins of the band's name:

There's an old blind dude [in Spartanburg] that tunes pianos, and his name is Marshall Tucker... We didn't name the band after him, but we just kind of liked that name and stuck with it.

The band's official website offers additional background:

When MTB first got together in their native Spartanburg back in 1972 they were rehearsing in an old warehouse. They had yet to decide on a name and were discussing what they should call themselves one evening. Someone looked at the tag on the key and it said "Marshall Tucker" and it was suggested they call themselves the Marshall Tucker Band, not knowing it was a real person's name. Because it was time to go to dinner and everyone was hungry they said "sounds great" and the rest is history. A few years later they found out that Marshall Tucker was the name of the person who rented the building before them. His name was still on the key tag because the warehouse owner hadn't changed it yet. Mr. Tucker was a blind piano tuner, who, along with his partner, used the building for their piano business. [1]