By Rob Nagy

It has been more then thirty-five years since the Marshall Tucker Band emerged onto the music scene with their 1973 self titled debut. As the opening act for the Allman Brothers that same year, they were soon headlining their own shows making the Marshall Tucker Band a musical force to be reckoned with both on record and on stage. Now with years of rigorous touring under their belt, the Marshall Tucker Band has earned the respect of music critics and a built a loyal and dedicated fan base. Having released the hit singles “Heard It In a Love Song,” “Fire On The Mountain,” “Can’t You See,” and “Take The Highway,” The Marshall Tucker Band has earned seven gold and three platinum albums. During the 90’s, the band released four hit singles on Billboard’s country chart and one on Billboard’s gospel chart. Their music has even reached Hollywood as a part of the soundtrack for the films “Smokey and the Bandit”, “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper”, and “Shipwrecked”. Having now played concert stages all over the world many times over, the Marshall Tucker Band is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. While the bands current line-up is not all original members, they have managed to maintain their musical integrity by adding musicians with impressive musical backgrounds in their own right. Their current line-up consists of founding member Doug Gray(lead vocals), David Muse (keyboards, sax and flute), B.B. Borden (drums, Stuart Swanlund (guitar), Pat Elwood (bass) and Clay Cook (guitar). Gray is quick to credit the band’s current roster carrying on that timeless Marshall Tucker Band sound. “The buying public never really cared whether we were country or rock and roll”, says Gray. “They called us a Southern rock band, but we have always played everything from country to blues and all things in-between. We’re still playing all of the classic songs, but we are moving ahead into other styles as well. We’re also playing for a younger audience than we have in the past, perhaps to the kids of the fans we played in front of in the 70’s and 80’s.” Gray added, “People have gotten ‘married and buried’ to classic Marshall Tucker Band songs like “Desert Skies” and “Can’t You See”. While numerous bands have come and gone the Marshall Tucker Band has stayed in the trenches playing to a dedicated audience of fans. “We never play less than 150 shows a year”, says Gray. “Sometimes we play as many as two hundred. We feel we owe it to the fans who have supported us through the years to deliver the music in person.” Gray added, “As we’ve become older our Southern heritage seems to come out even more. But no matter how old we get, we can still rock your socks off.”

For more info on the Marshall Tucker Band go to www.marshalltucker.com or www.myspace.com/themarshalltuckerband Tickets to this Saturday nights show at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading, PA can be purchased in person at the theatre box office or by calling (610)898-7200.

Photo by Rob Nagy