The Marshall Tucker Band

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The Marshall Tucker Band
Origin	Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
Genre(s)	Southern rock Country rock Rock and Roll
Years active	1972 — present
Label(s)	Capricorn Records Ramblin' Records
Website	www.marshalltucker.com
Members
Doug Gray Pat Ellwood Chris Hicks Clay Cook B.B. Borden David Muse
Former members
George McCorkle Paul Riddle Jerry Eubanks Toy Caldwell Tommy Caldwell Franklin Wilkie Ronnie Godfrey Bob Wray James Stroud Kenny Mimms Bobby Ogdin Rusty Milner Tom Robb Ace Allen Tim Lawter Don Cameron Frank Toler Mark Petty Ronald Radford Paul Thompson Garry Guzzardo Clay Cook Tony Heatherly Stuart Swanland

The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The band formed in 1972 with founding members Doug Gray (vocalist), George McCorkle (rhythm guitarist ), Paul Riddle (drummer), Jerry Eubanks (flutist), and brothers Toy (lead guitar) and Tommy Caldwell (bassist and front man). They soon signed with Capricorn Records and by 1973, had 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 more of a country and western feel, with the flute being a key lead instrument in their sound with a lot of its parts in the higher fife/piccolo register. "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.

Since its inception, the Marshall Tucker Band has suffered three great losses:

Original frontman and bassist, Tommy Caldwell died from injuries in a jeep crash on April 28, 1980. As well as being the front man who worked the crowd, he also sang background vocals and wrote several songs, including "Melody Ann," which was the only song he ever performed lead vocals on.

His brother, guitarist Toy Caldwell, like Doug Gray also a Vietnam veteran, died of heart disease on February 25, 1993. He was the band's lead guitarist and primary songwriter from 1973 - 1983. He also played steel and acoustic guitar. He used his thumb to pick the strings instead of his other fingers or a pick. He sang lead on several songs, including "This Ol Cowboy," and "Blue Ridge Mountain Sky." After leaving Marshall Tucker Band, he formed the Toy Caldwell Band and in 1992 released Toy Caldwell Band, his only solo album.

Founding member, guitarist George McCorkle, died of cancer on June 29, 2007 in Lebanon, Tennessee. He was the band's rhythm guitarist from 1973 - 1983. He also wrote many of the band's songs including "Fire on the Mountain," "Silverado," "Last of the Singing Cowboys," and "Holdin' On To You." In 1999 he released his first solo CD, American Street.

Despite these losses, the Marshall Tucker Band still plays up to 150 shows in a year, and they released a new album entitled "The Next Adventure" in June of 2007 on Ramblin Records. Lead singer Doug Gray is the only original member in the current (2007) lineup.

[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]