The Marshall Tucker Band

(b. 1950, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, d. 28 April 1980)

Formed in 1971 in South Carolina, the Marshall Tucker Band was a ‘southern-rock’ style outfit which maintained modest popularity from the early to late ’70s. Their highest-charting album, SEARCHIN’ FOR A RAINBOW, came in 1975. Their first single to chart was This Ol’ Cowboy, also in 1975.  Most of the group’s albums were gold or platinum sellers through 1978, and the 1977 single Heard It In A Love Song was their best-selling, reaching number 14. On April 28, 1980, Tommy Caldwell passed away from injuries sustained in a car wreck almost a week earlier. The efect of Caldwell’s death took a lot of the wind out of the band’s sails, but Marshall Tucker continued on, enlisting old Toy Factory bassist Franklin wilkie to fill the vacancy.  The group continued to perform after the death, but never recaptured their ’70s success. (Toy Caldwell eventually pursued a solo career and relesed one album, Toy Caldwell Band, in 1992 to good notices. Unfortunately, Caldwell passed away suddenly from heart attack on February 25, 1993).