The Marshall Tucker Band

Named after a blind piano tuner from their hometown, Southern rock group the Marshall Tucker Band was formed in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1972. Founded by Toy Caldwell (vocals / lead guitar), his brother Tommy Caldwell (bass), Doug Gray (lead vocals), Jerry Eubanks (keyboards / saxophone), and Paul Riddle (drums), this line-up would remain intact for several years. The Marshall Tucker Band signed with Capricorn Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1973. The album was a success and rose to number 29 on the Billboard 200. They released two albums in 1974 – A New Life (number 37) and Where We All Belong (number 54) – before releasing their best-selling album, 1975’s Searchin’ for A Rainbow (number 15) and the Top 40 hit “Fire on the Mountain.” In 1977, the band scored a Top 20 hit with the single “Heard It in a Love Song,” taken from their album Carolina Dreams. Tragedy struck when bassist Tommy Caldwell was killed in a car accident on April 28, 1980. With the wind knocked out of their sails, the band struggled along until June 1984 when most of the members left the Marshall Tucker band leaving only Paul Gray and Jerry Eubanks from the original line-up. With new members, they continued recording and touring, but Eubanks left the Marshall Tucker band in 1996, leaving Doug Gray the sole founding member.  He has continued to lead the band ever since.