About The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. While the band had reached the height of its commercial success by the end of the decade, it has recorded and performed continuously under various line-ups for 50 years. Lead vocalist Doug Gray remains the only original member still active with the band.
The original line-up of the Marshall Tucker Band, formed in 1972, included lead guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter Toy Caldwell , lead vocalist Doug Gray , keyboard player, saxophone player and flautist Jerry Eubanks , rhythm guitarist George McCorkle , drummer Paul Riddle and bassist Tommy Caldwell . They signed with Capricorn Records and released their first album in 1973, The Marshall Tucker Band.
After Tommy Caldwell was killed in a car accident in 1980, he was replaced by bassist Franklin Wilkie. Most of the original band members had left by 1984. The band's current line-up consists of Gray on vocals; keyboard player, saxophonist and flautist Marcus James Henderson; guitarists Chris Hicks and Rick Willis, bassist Ryan Ware and drummer B.B. Borden.
The "Marshall Tucker" in the band's name does not refer to a band member, rather to a blind piano tuner from Spartanburg. While the band was discussing possible band names one evening in an old warehouse they had rented for rehearsal space, someone noticed that the warehouse's door key had the name "Marshall Tucker" inscribed on it, and suggested they call themselves "The Marshall Tucker Band," not realizing it referred to an actual person. Later it came to light that Marshall Tucker, the piano tuner, had tuned a piano in that rented space before the band and his name was inscribed on the key. Music historian Joel Whitburn erroneously attributes "Marshall Tucker" to the owner of the band's rehearsal hall in his book Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002. The piano tuner "Marshall Tucker" died on January 20, 2023, at the age of 99. At the time it was reported that he supported the band’s use of his name and that he was "proud of them as long as they were good boys and played good music".
The original members of the Marshall Tucker Band had been playing in various line-ups under different band names around the Spartanburg area since the early 1960s. In 1966 members of several such bands merged to form the Toy Factory, named after guitarist Toy Caldwell. The Toy Factory's constantly shifting line-up included, at various times, Caldwell, his younger brother Tommy, Doug Gray, Jerry Eubanks, George McCorkle and Franklin Wilkie. In the late 1960s, four of the band members served in the US military; Toy Caldwell served in the Marine Corps and received a Purple Heart after being wounded in Vietnam.
By the 1970s, Toy Caldwell and George McCorkle had returned to Spartanburg and the Toy Factory had resumed playing in area clubs.
In 1972 Caldwell and McCorkle once again revamped the band's line-up, eventually settling on Tommy Caldwell on bass, George McCorkle rhythm guitar, vocalist Doug Gray and Jerry Eubanks, keyboards/flute/tenor sax, while adding Paul Riddle on drums; the new line-up adopted the name "Marshall Tucker Band". Wet Willie lead singer Jimmy Hall told Toy Caldwell to book the band at Grant's Lounge in Macon, Georgia, which he did. After hearing the band play at Grant's Lounge, Buddy Thornton and Paul Hornsby recorded the band's demo at Capricorn Studios. Frank Fenter and Phil Walden signed the Marshall Tucker Band to Capricorn Records based on those demos.
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