MARSHALL TUCKER BAND’S DOUG GRAY ON THE JOY OF CREATIVE FUSION
Their tireless celebration of creativity has enabled the Marshall Tucker Band to reach the milestone of 50 years of music. Noted for the success of chart-toppers and radio hits such as “Can’t You See”, “Fire on the Mountain”, and “Heard It in a Love Song”, the South Carolinians were blending elements of rock ‘n’ roll with extended jams, jazzy standalones, and country wistfulness, long before the word “fusion” was ever an adjective applied to music.
“We play Southern rock ‘n’ roll music with the ability to stray,” says Doug Gray, founding member and lead vocalist of the Marshall Tucker Band. “We reach our arms out to people who come with some of their old dreams, and make the songs better.”
Gray says that one of the secrets of the band’s longevity is that he and his bandmates sound much better live than on records. Another reason is that all of them cherish the challenge and opportunity of spontaneity.
“We don’t do the same show every night,” says Gray. “The same list has been at my feet for 15 years, all of about 25 songs, and I’ve never followed that setlist in 15 years. We look at each other for a minute, and maybe I’ll start singing a song that no one has ever heard us do live – a song that wasn’t a hit.