The Marshall Tucker Band – Together Forever (1978)

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, steel guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Toy Caldwell (1947–1993), lead vocalist Doug Gray (born 1948), keyboard player, saxophone player, and flautist Jerry Eubanks (born 1950), rhythm guitarist George McCorkle (1946–2007), drummer Paul Riddle (born 1953), and bassist Tommy Caldwell (1949–1980). 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 the mid-1980s.[2] 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 Tony Black, and drummer B.B. Borden.

Together Forever was the Marshall Tucker Band’s seventh studio album. It was produced by Stewart Levine, founder of CHISA records. This was the band’s last album produced for Capricorn Records. The name of the album reflects the Platonic love of the members towards one another.

The band’s follow-up album, their eighth and final album on the Capricorn label, would be a compilation album entitled Greatest Hits. (wikipedia)

Together Forever boasts a more mainstream rock approach than any of its predecessors, halfway between the country-tinged Long Hard Ride and the pop-oriented Carolina Dreams. Although the band sounds good, the songs don’t match the strength of their performances. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

This is an overlooked gem in the catalog. Of course the first 4 albums are a must, but this one has plenty to offer. Lets not forget that The Marshall Tucker Band was one of the early jam bands who came out of the southern scene. This album really showcases the impeccable and adventurous musical chops that defined the best of Southern Rock. I’ll be Loving You opens the album and its a doozy. The guitar playing of Toy Caldwell is nothing less than superb, and this song absolutely smokes and cooks. Doug Grays voice soars majestically above it all.

Love is a Mystery has a beautiful melody and features the usual brilliant horn arrangements of Jerry Eubanks; a trademark The MTB is known for. Once again, the intoxicating combination of Grays vocals and Caldwell’s screaming thumb-picked leads take the listener to a magical place where all is right in the universe. The second side of the album features another smoking track called Change is Gonna Come, which really combines all the elements of the band into one monster, mother of a song which should be played loudly, in the true spirit of Southern Rock. By all means give this album a serious listen, you won’t be disappointed. (Kevin Smith)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell (guitar, pedal steel.guitar, voals on 03. + 07.)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, background vocals)
Doug Gray (vocals, percussion)
George McCorkle (guitar, banjo)
Paul Riddle (drums)

Tracklist:
01. I’ll Be Loving You (Toy Caldwell) 5.30
02. Love Is A Mystery (Toy Caldwell) 7.11
03. Singing Rhymes (Toy Caldwell) 3.15
04. Dream Lover (Eubanks/McCorkle) 4.38
05. Everybody Needs Somebody (Gray/Eubanks/McCorkle) 4.42
06. Change Is Gonna Come (Tommy Caldwell) 6.25
07. Asking Too Much Of You (Toy Caldwell) 6.29
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08. Bound and Determined (recorded live November 2, 1975 Armadillo World HQ – Austin TX) (Toy Caldwell) 5.13

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More from the Marshall Tucker Band:

Tommy Caldwell
(November 9, 1949 – April 28, 1980)

Toy Caldwell
(November 13, 1947 – February 25, 1993)

The official website:

Marshall Tucker Band – Long Hard Ride (1976)

Long Hard Ride is the fifth studio album by The Marshall Tucker Band, released in 1976 and produced by Paul Hornsby. Guest performers included Charlie Daniels, John McEuen and Jerome Joseph. The title track was made into a short film that was played as a sort of movie trailer. It depicts the members of the band as a gang of cowboys. The album’s cover features Frank C. McCarthy’s painting “The Last Crossing”.

On Long Hard Ride, The Marshall Tucker Band’s country influences come to the fore, resulting in a strong record that failed to gain many hits. Still, the final product is well worth listening to — it’s one of their better releases. Be sure to listen for Charlie Daniels’ guest appearance. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

The Marshall Tucker Band seems to have been largely forgotten today but in the mid-1970s this band was one of the best Southern rock, country-rock outfits around.

Marshall Tucker had a very unique sound; they combined what was essentially a country and country-rock sound with elements of blues and jazz to create one of the most distinctive musical styles among the many successful bands that, at the time, were coming out of the south eastern U.S.

Bands that come out of the South at the same time as Marshall Tucker included Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Charlie Daniels Band.

If you’re not familiar with the Marshall Tucker Band, there are three of their albums you should check out: Searchin’ For A Rainbow, Long Hard Ride and Carolina Dreams. All three are excellent. (by Mark Anderson)

Take a Great Ride with the MTB:
The Marshall Tucker Band have recorded a lot of great albums, and this one are among the best. I think that ALL the songs are very strong. The first melody is the title-song `Long Hard Ride`. Close your eyes and you`ll believe that you`re in the wild west! And then the band continues with seven more great songs, among these I will mention `Walkìn`the Streets Alone, `Windy City Blues` and `You Say You Love Me`. Well this cd means a lot to me. I remember that it was a christmas-gift to me back in 1976 or something like that, off course on lp. And now so many years after, it is still such a great album. (ny Henrik Lorenz)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell (guitar, steel guitar, vocals on 02.)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, background vocals)
Doug Gray (vocals, percussion)
George McCorkle (guitar, banjo)
Paul Riddle (drums)
+
Charlie Daniels (fiddle)
Jerome Joseph (percussion)
John McEuen (banjo, mandolin)

Tracklist:
01. Long Hard Ride (Toy Caldwell) 3.40
02. Property Line (Toy Caldwell) 2.55
03. Am I The Kind Of Man (Toy Caldwell) 4.11
04. Walkin’ The Streets Alone (Toy Caldwell) 4.55
05. Windy City Blues (Eubanks/Gray/McCorkle) 4.46
06. Holding On To You (McCorkle) 3.42
07. You Say You Love Me (Toy Caldwell) 3.50
08. You Don’t Live Forever (Tommy Caldwell) 3.51

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More from The Marshall Tucker Band:

 

Marshall Tucker Band – Carolina Dreams (1977)

Carolina Dreams, released in 1977, was The Marshall Tucker Band’s sixth album and an ode to the band’s home state, South Carolina, USA. Focusing on Western themes, it spawned their biggest hit to date, “Heard It In a Love Song”, which rose to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, taking the album with it to #22 and #23 on the Country and Pop charts, respectively. They toured early that year to promote the album. A bonus live version of “Silverado” appears on the 2005 reissue which was recorded the year after the death of bassist and founding member, Tommy Caldwell. (by wikipedia)

The Carolina landscape seems to lend itself to dreaming; it’s no wonder that James Taylor wrote in one of his most famous songs that “I’m goin’ to Carolina in my mind.” This two-state region, with its rich and fertile soil, its mild year-round climate, its courteous people and rich culture, is a singularly lovely place in which to sit back and dream. For that reason, it seems appropriate that the Marshall Tucker Band gave their fine 1977 album the evocative title of “Carolina Dreams.”

The Marshall Tucker Band came out of Spartanburg, South Carolina – a center (with nearby Greenville) of the Upstate region, and a city with a mill-town heritage that, by 1977, was already in decline. Spartanburg and its environs are worlds away from the coastal gentility of Charleston; Pat Conroy, in one of his books, described “the upcountry of South Carolina” as a place that combines “the Bible Belt, sand-lot baseball, knife fights under the bleachers.”

But it was also a place where the musical heritage of the American South – including both African-American blues and Anglo-Appalachian country music – had long helped the people of the region through lives of hard work and hard times; and the Marshall Tucker Band’s work on this album is steeped in a sensibility that combines blues and country in a musically fruitful manner.

The album begins with “Fly Like an Eagle” — *not* the Steve Miller Band hit from 1976, but rather, for my money, a much better song. It is a crunchy, bluesy, riff-based rocker with high clear vocals from Doug Gray, and a soaring quality that characterizes many of the songs on this album. The song that follows, “Heard It in a Love Song,” was deservedly a big hit (#14 here in the U.S.A., #5 in Canada), and to this day it makes its way onto just about every Southern rock compilation that one can find. What gives this song that lyrical quality that sent it racing up the North American charts? To my way of thinking, it’s Jerry Eubanks’s flute solo. With a few exceptions (Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel in Genesis’ early years), the flute has not had much of a presence in rock music; but here, Eubanks’s flute combines seamlessly with flat-picking, Carl Perkins-style guitar, a lovely piano solo, and effective use of organ in a supporting role. The lyrics are fairly typical – a rambling, roaming rocker really loves the girl he’s with, but tells her he needs to move on – but musically, the song is so well-composed and so well-played that I’m not disposed to quibble.

“I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You” is slow-paced and bluesy; it unfolds slowly, gently, with effective use of the saxophone. The Toy Caldwell guitar solo in the middle is fairly long, but it complements the song well; in contrast with a lot of songs from the 1970’s heyday of Southern rock, the guitar solo doesn’t overwhelm the song. “Life in a Song” is funky and fast-paced; a kinetic guitar plays the dominant role here, while Hammond organ and a Muscle Shoals-style brass section provide fine support. “Desert Skies,” another slow and bluesy number, achieves something different by deploying guest star Charlie Daniels’s fiddle to establish a wistful, country-and-Western quality, in a manner that looks back to the earlier MTB album “Searchin’ for a Rainbow” (1975).

“Never Trust a Stranger,” with lap steel guitar and walking bass backing up a chunka-chunka guitar sound, keeps that Western sound going, as further emphasized by the song’s “outlaw” lyrics; but this song, with its minor-key delivery, has more of a foreboding quality, and once again Eubanks’s flute playing shines. The country influence is comparably important on the slow-paced, mellow “Tell It to the Devil”; but what stands out on this song is the piano, which switches back and forth seamlessly between barrel-house and gospel sounds. The harmonies, as throughout this album, are strong, and flute and acoustic guitar develop some lead melodies together very nicely. And, as a CD extra, this album offers a live version of “Silverado,” recorded in 1981 at the Winter Garden Theater in Dallas; it’s a fast-paced, riff-based number, heavy on the snare drum, with strong Hammond organ fills; if the guitar solo seems somewhat disorganized, hey, that’s live rock-and-roll!

Today, Spartanburg is probably best known for three things. It is home to a large BMW factory; its Wofford College is the training-camp home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers (whose panther-head logo cleverly incorporates an outline of the states of North and South Carolina); and it gave the Marshall Tucker Band to the world. The “Carolina Dreams” album, the only MTB studio album to go platinum, shows this classic Southern rock band at their best. (Paul Haspel)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell (lead guitar, steel guitar)
Doug Gray (vocals)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, background vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar)
Paul Riddle (drums)
+
Charlie Daniels (fiddle, background vocals on 05.)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Jaimoe (percussion)
Chuck Leavell (piano on 04.)

Leo LaBranche – Horn section arrangements and trumpet on “Life In A Song” and “I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You”
Dezso Lakatos – Tenor sax as part of the horn section.

Tracklist:
01. Fly Like an Eagle (Toy Caldwell) 3.05
02. Heard It in a Love Song (Toy Caldwell) – 4:55
03. I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You (Toy Caldwell/Gray/McCorkle) 6.50
04. Life In A Song (Eubanks/McCorkle) 3.23
05. Desert Skies (Toy Caldwell) 6.23
06. Never Trust A Stranger” (Tommy Caldwell) 5.14
07. Tell It To The Devil (Toy Caldwell) 6.27

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Still on the road:

 

The Marshall Tucker Band – Way Out West! (Live from San Francisco 1973) (2010)

With so many decades in the rear-view mirror since the Marshall Tucker Band became a part of the classic rock canon, it’s easy to forget that they were once a raw, rough-and-tumble bunch of Southern rock upstarts sporting edge and expertise in equal amounts. This archival live document, finally unearthed 27 years after its recording, captures the band in its earliest, most unvarnished phase, playing at San Francisco’s legendary Winterland just months after the release of its debut album. It also serves as a reminder that in the Southern rock scheme of things, the Marshall Tucker Band were more in line with the jazzier/funkier moments of the early Allman Brothers and Charlie Daniels than the greasy, bluesy grind of the Lynyrd Skynyrd school (though blues is still a major component of their sound here). Unsurprisingly, most of the first album’s tunes are on the set list here, plus a couple that would turn up on the next, and a cover of Memphis Slim’s “Everyday I Have the Blues.” Things kick off with a concise blast of good-time country hoedown vibes on “Hillbilly Band,” but in short order, “Another Cruel Love” lights out for territory not far removed from Van Morrison’s early-‘70s swinging R&B sound, and “Take the Highway” offers up a flute solo (stop and think about that; how many other Southern rockers had a featured flutist?) over a jammy jazz-funk workout. It’s endearing to hear the iconic “Can’t You See” introduced with the words “This is the single…hope you dig it,” and the country-rock side of the band is given further play on the pedal steel-bedecked “See You Later, I’m Gone.” The Marshall Tucker Band were not immune to the excesses of the era, as evinced by their 14-minute version of the aforementioned blues tune, essentially a Toy Caldwell guitar showcase, but by the time they close things out with “Ramblin’,” a jumping, R&B-inflected tune complete with honking tenor sax solo, you’re prepared to forgive them for the occasional overindulgence. by James Allen)

Of all the band’s on Phil Walden’s Capricorn label during the heyday of Southern rock in the 1970s, The Marshall Tucker Band came closest to The Allman Brothers in its ability to write memorable material and improvise with a real sense of adventure. Way Out West: Live in San Francisco 1973, forcefully illustrates the band’s virtues.

MTB distinguished itself even further from its forebears by its eclectic mix of influences. Blues was no more or less important than country music, as evinced in the opening “Hillbilly Band,” or traditional jazz, motifs of which become most apparent when Jerry Eubanks is playing flute or saxophone, as he does on “24 Hours at a Time.” Vocalist/songwriter Toy Caldwell’s lead guitar style mixed all those elements when he takes the spotlight as on “Every Day I Have the Blues” or when the group jams as a unit.

And it’s these latter moments, here best exemplified by the way the sextet stretches out on “Take the Highway” and “Can’t You See,” that Marshall Tucker truly excels. Granted the group’s interplay isn’t as sophisticated as The Allmans—holding, as it does, too closely to chord change repetition—but its grasp of dynamics, grounded in the splendid rhythm section comprised of drummer Paul Riddle and bassist Tommy Caldwell (sibling of Toy), is impeccable. And the drive of MTB’s collective motion never flags, thanks as well to George McCorkle’s insistent rhythm guitar work.

As demonstrated on “Another Cruel Love,” vocalist Doug Gray’s voice is as much an attraction in the MTB sound as the songs and the jams. He not only adds a gospel element to this heady mix, as on “Ramblin,'” but his full-throated singing is no mere precursor or mere afterthought to the improvisational interludes; instead, it’s a bona fide attention-getter on its own terms.

Recorded at famed rock impresario Bill Graham’s Winterland, Way Out West was compiled and produced by Gray, who leads a realigned ensemble under the Marshall Tucker name today. It contains the bulk of MTB’s debut album plus the highlights of the second album, A New Life (Capricorn, 1974), yet to be released at the time of this concert and, bereft of the sometimes superfluous production touches, presenting the group with an aggressive edge in its playing that’s missing from its more relaxed studio work. The sleek sound production features just enough definition to highlight the distinctive instrumental lineup individually and collectively.

The Marshall Tucker Band never descended into the generic Dixie rock, even later in its career after the death of bassist Caldwell, when its approach became more conventionally structured. Live in San Francisco 1973 is a brilliant document of the group’s glory days that will gratify fans and may even alter the preconceptions about Southern rock for those not inclined to hear the genre with open ears. (by Doug Collette)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass)
Toy Caldwell (leadguitar)
Jerry Eubanks (flute)
Doug Gray (vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar)
Paul Riddle (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Hillbilly Band (Toy Caldwell) 4.05
02. Another Cruel Love (Toy Caldwell) 4.31
03. Take The Highway (Toy Caldwell) 8.11
04. Can’t You See (Toy Caldwell) 6.29
05. See You Later, I’m Gone (Toy Caldwell) 3.28
06. Ramblin’ (Toy Caldwell) 5.50
07. Everyday (I Have The Blues) (Chatman) 13.59
08. 24 Hours At A Time (Toy Caldwell) 8.28

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Marshall Tucker Band – A New Life (1974)

A New Life is the second album by The Marshall Tucker Band. It was recorded in Macon, Georgia at Capricorn Studios.

Perhaps the only reason that New Life isn’t quite as memorable as its self-titled predecessor is that the band’s debut was just so startling when it appeared. By the time New Life was issued in 1974, to the band’s credit, it seemed like the Marshall Tucker Band sound had always been a part of America’s rock & roll scene. New Life is earthier than the first album, and country music is less layered over by the trappings of jam-band rock. “Blue Ridge Mountain Sky” is only eclipsed by Dickey Betts’ “Ramblin’ Man” as the ultimate road song from the period. Likewise, the pedal steel blues of “Too Stubborn” echo an earlier era altogether, as the ghost of Bob Wills comes into Toy Caldwell’s songwriting. The whining guitars and lilting woodwinds of the title track bring the jazzier elements in the band’s sound to the fore and wind them seamlessly into a swirling, pastoral country music. The Muscle Shoals horns lend a hand on the Allman Brothers’ Brothers and Sisters-influenced “Another Cruel Love,” and guest Charlie Daniels’ fiddle cooks up a bluegrass stew on “24 Hours at a Time.” The sound is fantastically balanced and warm, and like its predecessor, this album has dated very well. (by Thom Jurek)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell – guitar, steel guitar, slide guitar, vocals on 03. + 11.)
Doug Gray (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, keyboards, background vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar, Banjo)
Paul Riddle (drums)
+
Charlie Daniels (fiddle)
Earl Ford (horn)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Oscar Jackson (horn)
Jaimoe (percussion)
Todd Logan (horn)
Harold Williams (horn)

Tracklist:
01. A New Life 6.44
02. Southern Woman 7.55
03. Blue Ridge Mountain Sky 3.37
04. Too Stubborn 3.58
05. Another Cruel Love 3.58
06. You Ain’t Foolin’ Me 7.03
07. 24 Hours At A Time 5.04
08. Fly Eagle Fly 4.25
+
09. Another Cruel Love” (Live at Uhlein Hall, Milwaukee, WI, July 11, 1974) 4.23

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Various Artists – Hotels, Motels and Road Show (1978)

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals. Although the origin of the term Southern rock is unknown, “many people feel that these important contributors to the development of rock and roll have been minimized in rock’s history.”

The Allman Brothers Band played blues rock with long jams. Loosely associated with the first wave of Southern rock were acts like Barefoot Jerry and Charlie Daniels from North Carolina. In the early 1970s, another wave of hard rock Southern groups emerged. Their music emphasized boogie rhythms and fast guitar leads with lyrics extolling the values, aspirations – and excesses – of Southern working-class young adults, not unlike the outlaw country movement. Examples include The Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Blackfoot. Bands such as Drivin N Cryin, Dash Rip Rock, and Kentucky Headhunters emerged as popular Southern bands across the Southeastern United States during the 1980s and 1990s. The Georgia Satellites also had some widespread popularity in the mid to late 1980s.[citation needed] Some rock groups from the South, such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds incorporated Southern musical and lyrical themes.

The 1990s also saw the influence of Southern rock touching metal. In 2001, Kid Rock went from a rock/rapper to a southern rocker/country singer. Southern rock currently plays on the radio in the United States, but mostly on oldies stations and classic rock stations. Post-grunge bands such as Nickelback have included a Southern rock feel to their songs.[clarification needed] Additionally, alternative rock groups like Kings of Leon combine Southern rock with garage rock, alt-country, and blues rock. Several of the original early 1970s hard rock Southern rock groups are still performing today, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and Canned Heat.

Bonnie Bramlett

Rock music’s origins lie mostly in the music of the American South, and many stars from the first wave of 1950s rock and roll such as Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis hailed from the Deep South. However, the British Invasion and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the middle 1960s shifted the focus of new rock music away from the rural south and to large cities like Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. But Sir Douglas Quintet, Tony Joe White and Dale Hawkins issued nice albums. In the late 1960s, Blues rock band such as Canned Heat (from Los Angeles), Creedence Clearwater Revival (from El Cerrito, California), and The Band (Canadian, though drummer Levon Helm was a native Arkansan) were under the influence of Southern blues, boogie and country music.

The Allman Brothers Band, based in Macon, Georgia, made their national debut in 1969 and soon gained a loyal following. Their blues rock sound on one hand incorporated long jams informed by jazz and classical music, and on the other hand drew from native elements of country and folk. Because a certain type of blues music, and essentially, rock and roll, was invented in the South, Gregg Allman commented that “Southern rock” was a redundant term, like “rock rock.”

The Allman Brothers were signed to Capricorn Records, a small Macon label formed and headed by Phil Walden (former manager of Otis Redding) and partner Frank Fenter, former European Managing Director of Atlantic Records. Similar acts recorded on Capricorn included The Marshall Tucker Band from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Wet Willie from Alabama, Grinderswitch from Georgia (and composed of Allman Brothers’ roadies) and the Elvin Bishop Band from Oklahoma.

Loosely associated with the first wave of Southern rock were acts like Barefoot Jerry and Charlie Daniels from North Carolina. Charlie Daniels, a big-bearded fiddler with a knack for novelty songs, gave Southern rock its self-identifying anthem with his 1975 hit “The South’s Gonna Do It”, the lyrics of which mentioned all of the above bands, proclaiming: “Be proud you’re a rebel/’Cause the South’s gonna do it again.” A year earlier, Daniels had started the Volunteer Jam, an annual Southern rock-themed concert held in Tennessee. The Winters Brothers Band from Franklin, Tennessee was a band Charlie Daniels helped to get started with “Sang Her Love Songs”, “Smokey Mountain Log Cabin Jones”, and more. They still perform and hold an annual festival in Nolensville, Tennessee every year.

In the early 1970s, another wave of hard rock Southern groups emerged. Their music emphasized boogie rhythms and fast guitar leads with lyrics extolling the values, aspirations – and excesses – of Southern working-class young adults, not unlike the outlaw country movement. Lynyrd Skynyrd of Jacksonville, Florida dominated this genre until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash. After this tragic plane crash, members Allen Collins and Gary Rossington started The Rossington-Collins Band. Groups such as Ozark Mountain Daredevils, .38 Special, Confederate Railroad, Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, The John Lee Walker Band, Point Blank, Black Oak Arkansas, and the Edgar Winter Group also thrived in this genre.

Not all Southern rock artists fit into the above molds. The Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Amazing Rhythm Aces were more focused on vocal harmonies, and Louisiana’s Le Roux ranged from Cajun-flavored Southern boogie early on to a more arena rock sound later on, while the Dixie Dregs and Allman Brothers’ offshoot Sea Level explored jazz fusion. At Southern rock’s peak The Allman Brothers and other Capricorn artists played a part in Jimmy Carter’s 1980 campaign for the presidency (by wikipedia)

Capricorn Recording Studios in Macon

And this is the the ultimate live compilation from Capricorn. Two LPs featured live tracks from Stillwater, The Dixie Dregs, The Marshall Tucker Band, Bonnie Bramlett, Grinderswitch, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie, Richard Betts, Gregg Allman, and The Allman Brothers Band. Enjoy the power of Southern Rock !

(This entry is dedicated to Phil Walden: Hereá picture of Walden with The Allman Brothers Band in the studio)

Tracklist:
01. Stillwater: Out On A Limb (Walker/Hall/Causey/Spearman) 5.05
02. Stillwater: Mind Bender (Walker/Buie) 5.07
03. Sea Level: Grand Larceny (Larsen) 8.00
04. Dixie Dregs: Refried Funky Chicken (Morse) 2.55
(Recorded At The Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, May 1978)
05. The Marshall Tucker Band: Fire On A Mountain (McCorkle) 4.35
(Recorded At The Palace Theatre, Manchester, England, December 1976)
06. Bonnie Bramlett: Superstar (Russell/Bramlett) 6.16
(Recorded At The Apollo Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, December 1976)
07. Grinderswitch: You’re So Fine (Schofield/Finnie) 3.28
(Recorded At The Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, November 1976)
08. Elvin Bishop: Travelin’ Shoes (Bishop) 7.22
(Recorded At The Roxy, Los Angeles, California, October 1976)
09. The Marshall Tucker Band: Take The Highway (Caldwell) 7.55
(Recorded At Uhlein Hall, Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1973)
10. Wet Willie:  Teaser (Duke) 4.05
(Recorded At The Roxy, Los Angeles, California, March 1976)
11. Richard Betts: No Hard Times (Rodgers) 4.28
(Recorded At Winterland, San Francisco, California, December 1974)
12. Gregg Allman: Are You Lonely For Me, Baby? (Berns) 4.22
(Recorded At Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, November 1973 )
13. The Allman Brothers Band: Statesboro Blues (McTell) 4.26
(Recorded At Fillmore East, New York, NY, March 1971)

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Marshall Tucker Band – Tenth (1980)

Riding high from such late-’70s classics as “Carolina Dreams” and “Together Forever,” the Marshall Tucker Band appeared to be running on full cylinders heading into 1980. With the success and return to their cowboy roots on 1979’s Running Like the Wind, many thought the tradition would continue with their next record. That said, Tenth was almost a 90° turn for the band, favoring the slick, warm radio-friendly production and boogie rock à la the Doobie Brothers and other contemporaries. Things only go back to the ranch ever so slightly on the jam-friendly “Cattle Drive,” which could easily be backdrop music for a scene on Dallas rather than a “hands-down-back-at-the-ranch” working man’s anthem. This isn’t the band in their finest form, but it’s nowhere near their worst, either. This 1980 release, recently reissued on theWounded Bird imprint in 2005, was the last recording by the Marshall Tucker Band to feature the original lineup. Founding member Tommy Caldwell died tragically a month after the album’s release from injuries sustained in a severe automobile accident. (by Rob Theakston)

Personnel
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals, guitar on 02.)
Toy Caldwell (guitar, pedal steel-guitar, harmonica on 02., vocals on 07.)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, vibraphone, percussion, background vocals)
Doug Gray (vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar, organ on 06.)
Paul T. Riddle (drums, percussion)
+
Background vocals + handclaps on 06.
Patti Austin – Jocelyn Shaw – Ullanda McCullough – Vivian Cherry – Diva Gray – Ben Mojo Burnett

(Illustration by Chuck Ayers)

Tracklist:
01. It Takes Time (Toy Caldwell) 3,32
02. Without You (Tommy Caldwell) 3,33
03. See You One More Time (Toy Caldwell) 3.48
04. Disillusion  (McCorkle/Eubanks) 3,55
05, Cattle Drive (Tommy Caldwell/Caldwell) 5,17
06. Gospel Singin’ Man (McCorkle) 3,23
07. Save MySoul (Toy Caldwell) 4.35
08. Sing My Blues (Tommy Caldwell/Toy Caldwell) 3,25
09. Jimi (McCorkle/Toy Caldwell) 2.11
10. Foolish Dreaming (Gray/McCorkle) 4.49

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Marshall Tucker Band – Carolina Christmas (2005)

So it’s come to this: a Marshall Tucker Christmas album. The first urge is to dismiss this as another attempt to cash in on the holiday record market, but right from the onset of the opener, “White Christmas,” it becomes evident that this is an album a long time in the making, reassembling bandmembers from incarnations spanning over three decades. The performances are inspired but relaxed, much like their earliest releases, and there are moments when their signature hard rock sound can easily wipe away the notions that this is a Christmas record if it weren’t for the timeless melodies and lyrics. Much of this album (like Marshall Tucker’s career) is a bold move, especially as there are very few Southern rock Christmas records available. A nice alternative to the ho-hum various-artists holiday compilations and ideal for those looking for their holiday records to have a little hot sauce thrown in the mix. (by Rob Theakston)

Personnel:
Barry “B.B. Queen” Borden (drums, percussion, vocals)
Pat Ellwood (bass)
Doug Gray (vocals, percussion)
Chris Hicks (guitar, vocals)
David Muse (saxophone, flute, harmonica, keyboards)
Stuart Swanlund (guitar, slide-guitar, vocals)
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Clay Cook (guitar, vocals)
Jerry Eubanks (saxophone)
Brianna Foister (background vocals)
Jaci Foister (background vocals)
Keith Glenn (bells, shaker)
Dale Gray (background vocals)
Renee Gray (background vocals)
Robert Gray (background vocals)
W.L. Guthrie (mandolin)
Wynelle Hicks (background vocals)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Steve Keeter (keyboards)
Alan Kerr (percussion)
Gabrielle Gray Leopard (vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar)
Buddy Strong (guitar, shaker)
Alan “Red” Walden (background vocals)
Christian Walden (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. White Christmas (Berlin) 3.48
02. Christmas in Carolina (Hicks) 4.22
03. I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Gannon/Kent/Ram) 2.33
04. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Martin) 3.17
05. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Cahn/Styne) 1.12
06. Silent Night (Gruber/Mohr) 4.24
07. Snowfall In Georgia (Clark) 3.54
08. My Christmas In Custody (Borden) 2.41
09. Jingle Bells (Traditional) 2.14
10. Merry Christmas Baby (Baxter/Brown) 3.43
11. Leave the Christmas Lights On (Geiger/McCorkle) 3.02
12. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Traditional) 3.28

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