'He had our best interests at heart' Namesake of Spartanburg's Marshall Tucker Band dies at 99
Marshall Tucker was a South Carolina piano tuner, who was born blind, but friends say he had an extraordinary ear for pitch and could name any note he heard.
Tucker died peacefully Friday, Jan. 20 in West Columbia, according to a message on the Instagram page of the Marshall Tucker Band. He was 99. The Instagram post also said "Marshall was blind since birth but amazingly could play the heck out of the piano. He always said his talent was simply God-given. He tuned pianos in South Carolina for decades."
"He was a very nice guy who had our best interest at heart. He would do interviews and had always good words for us," said Douglas Gray, lead singer of Marshall Tucker Band. "He's just a great guy, so kind all the time, and I'd call just to cheer him up when he was sick."
Tucker's name became synonymous with the Southern Rock Band, but he was never part of the group. However, some band members have said over the years without Tucker there would have never been a band by that name. The band saw the name in 1972 when they rented an old warehouse in Spartanburg to use for rehearsals.
Marshall Tucker Band ConcertMarshall Tucker Band performs in front of crowd of 5,500 in downtown Spartanburg
What is it about a name? How the Marshall Tucker Band got its name
One of the members noticed the name "Marshall Tucker" inscribed on the building's key, as it had been previously occupied by Tucker for his piano tuning business. And the rest is history.
"How do you cover 99 years of life? He was kind, nonconfrontational and he just went with the flow," said Deborah Duval, the daughter of Tucker. "He loved people and could talk to anybody about anything. He was just a good, Christian man."
Duval said her father's disability never stopped him from learning and trying new things, and she never thought of her father as blind.
"My daddy has been independent, since forever," Duval said. "He learned how to use a computer and had a house full of toys such as his organ, piano, harmonica and radio. They [Tucker and his wife] did their Sunday school lessons and read many books, and he even worked for the National Federation of the Blind. He and a few blind friends would go to Columbia to discuss politics for blind people. He's done so much, we should write a book."
Tucker also served as the president for the National Federation of the Blind in South Carolina and worked on legislation for blind residents.
When the band started using his name, Tucker didn't know anything about it and the band didn't know him. The band and Tucker eventually figured out what was happening. Tucker was the namesake for the band ever since.
Marshall Tucker BandIn their own words: Spartanburg classic rockers Marshall Tucker Band talk legacy, future
The six founding members of Marshall Tucker were, brothers Tommy and Toy Caldwell on bass and lead guitar, rhythm guitarist George McCorkle, drummer Paul T. Riddle, lead singer Doug Gray and Jerry Eubanks on flute and saxophone,
Through tragedy, various lineup changes and more have happened with the band, but it has now spanned a half-century. Last year in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary, Gray and the rest of the group's current members - guitarists Rick Willis and Chris Hicks, drummer B.B. Borden, keyboardist-saxophonist-flutist Marcus James Henderson and bassist Ryan Ware -- played dozens of shows across the U.S., including a free hometown performance on June 7 at Morgan Square in downtown Spartanburg, held in conjunction with the BMW Charity Pro Am golf tournament.
"We are in California right now for our shows, but I wish we were over there to give the family our condolences," Gray said. "He's in a much better place now, and someday we will be in a better place with him too."
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Namesake of Spartanburg's Marshall Tucker Band dies at 99
