Can
Can playing live, Hamburg, 1972.
Background information
Origin	Cologne, West Germany
Genres	Krautrock, experimental rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, ambient, avant-garde, electronic music
Years active	1968–1979, 1989, 1991
Labels	Liberty, United Artists, Spoon, Mute
Associated acts	Traffic
Website	www.spoonrecords.com
Members
Holger Czukay Jaki Liebezeit Irmin Schmidt
Past members
Michael Karoli David C. Johnson Malcolm Mooney Damo Suzuki Rosko Gee Rebop Kwaku Baahchaz

Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.

Can constructed their music largely through collective spontaneous composition –– which the band differentiated from improvisation in the jazz sense –– sampling themselves in the studio and editing down the results;^[1] bassist/chief engineer Holger Czukay referred to Can's live and studio performances as "instant compositions".^[2] They had occasional commercial success, with singles such as "Spoon" and "I Want More" reaching national singles charts. Through albums such as Monster Movie (1969), Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973), the band exerted a considerable influence on avant-garde, experimental, underground, ambient, punk, post-punk, new wave and electronic music.^[3]

History[link]

Early years: 1968–1970[link]

The roots of Can can be traced back to Irmin Schmidt and a trip that he made to New York City in 1968. While Schmidt initially spent his time with avant-garde musicians such as Steve Reich, La Monte Young and Terry Riley, he was also eventually exposed to the world of Andy Warhol, Hotel Chelsea and, perhaps most importantly, The Velvet Underground. In his own words, the trip "corrupted" him, sparking a fascination with the possibilities of rock music. Upon his return to Cologne later that year, an inspired Schmidt formed a group with American avant-garde composer and flautist David C. Johnson and music teacher Holger Czukay with the intention of exploring his newly broadened horizons.

Up to that point, the inclinations of all three musicians had been exclusively avant-garde classical. In fact, both Schmidt and Czukay had directly studied under the influential composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Schmidt chose to play organ and piano, while Czukay played bass and was able to record their music with a basic two-track tape machine. The group was soon fleshed out by with guitarist Michael Karoli, a 19-year-old pupil of Czukay, and drummer Jaki Liebezeit, who had grown disenchanted with his work in free jazz groups. As the group developed a more rock-oriented sound, a disappointed Johnson left the group at the end of 1968.

The band used the names "Inner Space" and "The Can" before finally settling on "CAN". Liebezeit subsequently suggested the backronym "communism, anarchism, nihilism" for the band's name. In mid-1968, the band enlisted the creative, highly rhythmic, but unstable and often confrontational American vocalist Malcolm Mooney, a New York-based sculptor, with whom they recorded the material for an album, Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom. Unable to find a recording company willing to release the album, the group continued their studio work until they had material for what became their first release, Monster Movie, released in 1969. This album contained new versions of two songs previously recorded for Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom, "Father Cannot Yell" and "Outside My Door". Other material recorded around the same time was released in 1981 as Delay 1968. Mooney's bizarre ranting vocals emphasized the sheer strangeness and hypnotic quality of the music, which was influenced particularly by garage rock, psychedelic rock and funk. Repetition was stressed on bass and drums, particularly on the epic "Yoo Doo Right", which had been edited down from a six-hour improvisation to take up a mere single side of vinyl. Liebezeit's tight but multifarious drumming was crucial in carrying the music.

Mooney returned to America soon afterwards on the advice of a psychiatrist, having been told that getting away from the chaotic music of Can would be better for his mental health.^[4] The liner notes of Monster Movie claim that Mooney suffered a nervous breakdown ("caught in a Can groove"), shouting "upstairs, downstairs" repeatedly. He was replaced by the more understated Kenji "Damo" Suzuki, a young Japanese traveller found busking outside a Munich cafe by Czukay and Liebezeit. Though he only knew a handful of guitar chords and improvised the majority of his lyrics (as opposed to committing them to paper), Suzuki was asked to perform with the band that same night. The band's first record with Suzuki was Soundtracks, released in 1970, a compilation of music made for films that also contained two earlier tracks recorded with Mooney. Suzuki's lyrics were usually in English, though sometimes in Japanese (for example, in "Oh Yeah" and "Doko E").

Classic years: 1971–1973[link]

	"Father Cannot Yell" noicon "Father Cannot Yell" from Monster Movie
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The next few years saw Can release their most acclaimed works. While their earlier recordings tended to be at least loosely based on traditional song structures, on their mid-career albums the band reverted to an extremely fluid improvisational style. The double album Tago Mago (1971) is often seen as a groundbreaking, influential and deeply unconventional record, based on intensely rhythmic jazz-inspired drumming, improvised guitar and keyboard soloing (frequently intertwining each other), tape edits as composition, and Suzuki's idiosyncratic vocalisms.^{[citation needed]} Czukay: "(Tago Mago) was an attempt in achieving a mystery musical world from light to darkness and return."^[5]

Tago Mago was followed in 1972 by Ege Bamyasi, a more accessible but still avant-garde record which featured the catchy "Vitamin C" and the Top 40 German hit "Spoon". Czukay: "We could achieve an excellent dry and ambient sound... (Ege Bamyasi) reflects the group being in a lighter mood."^[5]

It was followed by Future Days in 1973, which represents an early example of ambient music, as well as including the pop song "Moonshake". Czukay: "'Bel Air' (the 20 minute-long track which took up the whole of side two on the Future Days original vinyl LP) showed Can in a state of being an electric symphony group performing a peaceful though sometimes dramatic landscape painting."^[5]

Suzuki left soon after the recording of Future Days to marry his German girlfriend, and become a Jehovah's Witness.^[6] Vocals were taken over by Karoli and Schmidt;^[4] however, after the departure of Suzuki, fewer of their tracks featured vocals, as Can found themselves experimenting with the ambient music they had begun with Future Days.

Later years: 1974–1979[link]

Soon Over Babaluma from 1974 continued in the ambient style of Future Days, yet it regained some of the abrasive edge of Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi. In 1975, Can signed to Virgin Records in the UK and EMI/Harvest in Germany, appearing the same year on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test where a memorable performance of Vernal Equinox involved Schmidt playing one keyboard section with a series of rapid karate chops. Shortly after the appearance Schmidt suffered a broken leg which led to cancellation of the band's UK tour.

The later albums Landed (1975) and Flow Motion (1976) saw Can moving towards a somewhat more conventional style as their recording technology improved. Accordingly, the disco single "I Want More" from Flow Motion became their only hit record outside Germany. Co-written by their live sound mixer Peter Gilmour, it reached No 26 in the UK charts in October 1976, which prompted an appearance on Top of the Pops, where Czukay performed with a double bass. In 1977 Can were joined by former Traffic bassist Rosko Gee and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, both of whom provided vocals to Can's music, appearing on the albums Saw Delight (1977), Out of Reach (1978) and Can (1979). During this period Holger Czukay was pushed to the fringes of the group's activity; in fact he just made sounds using shortwave radios, Morse code keys, tape recorders and other sundry objects. He left Can in late 1977 and did not appear on the albums Out of Reach or Can, although he was involved with production work for the latter album. The band seemed to be in a hiatus shortly afterwards, but reunions have taken place on several occasions since.

After the split and reunion[link]

Since the split, all the former members have been involved in musical projects, often as session musicians for other artists. In 1986 they briefly reformed, with original vocalist Mooney, to record Rite Time (released in 1989). There was a further reunion in 1991 to record a track for the Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World, and Can have since been the subject of numerous compilations, live albums and samples.

In 1999 the four core members of Can, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt and Czukay, performed live at the same show, although playing separately with their current solo projects (Sofortkontakt, Club Off Chaos, Kumo and U-She respectively). Michael Karoli died of cancer on 17 November 2001. In 2004, the band began a series of Super Audio CD remasters of its back catalog, which were finished in 2006.

Holger Czukay has recorded several ambient albums and collaborated with David Sylvian among others, while Jaki Liebezeit has played extensively with bassists Jah Wobble and Bill Laswell, and in a drum ensemble called Drums of Chaos, and in 2005 with Datenverarbeiter on the online album Givt.^[7] Michael Karoli recorded a reggae album with Polly Eltes before his passing, and Irmin Schmidt has begun working with the acclaimed drummer Martin Atkins, producing a remix for the industrial band The Damage Manual, and a cover of "Banging the Door" for a Public Image Ltd tribute album, both released on Atkins' label, Invisible Records. Karoli formed Sofortkontakt! for the Can reunion shows in 1999 with Mark Spybey, who had previously been associated with Dead Voices on Air, Zoviet France, Reformed Faction and Download. The band also featured Alexander Schoenert, Felix Guttierez of Jelly Planet and Mandjao Fati. Karoli also performed on numerous occasions with Damo Suzuki's Network. Damo Suzuki returned to music in 1983, and since then he has been playing live improvisational shows around the world with local musicians and members of touring bands at various points, sometimes issuing live albums. Malcolm Mooney recorded an album as singer for the band Tenth Planet in 1998. Rosko Gee has been the bassist in the live band on Harald Schmidt's TV show in Germany since 1995. Rebop Kwaku Baah died in 1983 following a brain hemorrhage.

Music[link]

Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt were both pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Can inherited a strong grounding in his musical theory; the latter was trained as a classical pianist, while Michael Karoli was a pupil of Holger Czukay and brought the influence of gypsy music through his esoteric studies. Drummer Jaki Liebezeit had strong jazz leanings. The band's sound was originally intended to be based on the sound of ethnic music, so when the band decided to pick up the garage rock sound, original member David Johnson left. This world music trend was later exemplified on albums such as Ege Bamyasi (the name meaning "Aegean okra" in Turkish), Future Days and Saw Delight, and by incorporating new band members with different nationalities. A series of tracks on Can albums, known as "Ethnological Forgery Series", abbreviated to "E.F.S", demonstrated the band's ability to successfully recreate ethnic-sounding music.

The band's early rock influences include The Beatles and The Velvet Underground^[2] as well as Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and Frank Zappa.^[8] The band have admitted that the beginning of Can's "Father Cannot Yell" was inspired by the Velvet Underground's "European Son". Malcolm Mooney's voice has been compared to that of James Brown (an acknowledged hero of the band members) and their early style, rooted in psychedelic music, drew comparisons with Pink Floyd. Along with their peers in the krautrock scene, they were under the influence of the wider progressive rock movement taking place in England and elsewhere during the late 1960s and early 1970s^{[citation needed]}. Czukay's extensive editing has occasionally been compared to the late-'60s music of trumpeter Miles Davis (such as In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew)^[9]: Can and Davis both would record long groove-intensive improvisations, then edit the best bits together for their albums. Czukay and Teo Macero (Davis's producer and editor) both had roots in the musique concrète of the 1940s and '50s. Irmin Schmidt stated in a discussion with Michael Karoli in 1996 concerning the various citations of influences upon their music: "You know, it's funny that in spite of all the supposed influences on us that have been written about, the one overriding influence has never been mentioned: Michael von Biel".

Damo Suzuki was a very different singer from Mooney, with a multilingual (he claimed to sing in "the language of the Stone Age") and often inscrutable vocal style. With Suzuki, the band made their most critically and commercially successful albums. The rhythm section's work on Tago Mago has been especially praised: one critic writes that much of the album is based on "long improvisations built around hypnotic rhythm patterns";^[10] another writes that "Halleluhwah" finds them "pounding out a monster trance/funk beat".^[11] The band's post–Damo Suzuki period has been criticised^[who?] for not being as groundbreaking and genre-defining as the earlier albums: although critics had praised Can's sound in the early 1970s as being ahead of its time, the band just used a two track recorder until the release of Landed in 1975. However, they do try out styles they hadn't done before: Landed sees them influenced by glam rock^{[original research?]}, Flow Motion by reggae, Saw Delight and Out of Reach by world music again, and the guitar of Carlos Santana.

Influence[link]

Major artists working in the post-punk genre such as The Fall, Public Image Ltd, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Suicide and other acts like David Bowie, Talking Heads, Pavement, The Stone Roses, Lumerians,^[12] Talk Talk and Primal Scream have cited Can as an influence. Brian Eno made a short film in tribute to Can, while John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared at the Echo Awards ceremony, at which Can were awarded the most prestigious music award in Germany,^[13] to pay tribute to guitarist Michael Karoli.

John Lydon, formerly of the Sex Pistols, formed Public Image Limited patterned after Can's early 1970s five-member lineup. Lydon was mooted as a possible singer for the band, but initial conversations amounted to nothing, much to Can addict Jah Wobble's dismay (though he went on to many collaborations with the constituent members of Can himself). Lydon also mentioned Tago Mago as being his favourite record in his autobiography. In the early 2000's, Radiohead performed a cover^[14] of the song "Thief" from Delay 1968,^[15] and have claimed Can as an influence. Mark E. Smith of The Fall pays tribute to Damo Suzuki with the track "I Am Damo Suzuki" on the 1985 album This Nation's Saving Grace. The Jesus and Mary Chain used to cover "Mushroom" live in the mid-1980s. The Flaming Lips wrote their song "Take Meta Mars" off their album In a Priest Driven Ambulance after hearing "Mushroom" just once.^{[citation needed]} The songs bear great resemblance.

At least five notable bands have named themselves in tribute to Can: The Mooney Suzuki for Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki; the indie rock band Spoon after the hit "Spoon"; the electronic band Egebamyasi, formed by Scottish musician Mr Egg in 1984, after Can's album Ege Bamyasi; Hunters & Collectors after a song on the Landed album; and Moonshake, named for a track on Future Days, and formed by ex-Wolfhounds frontman David Callahan. The Scottish writer Alan Warner has written two novels in tribute to two different Can members (Morvern Callar to Holger Czukay and The Man Who Walks to Michael Karoli respectively). The Sacrilege remix album features remixes of Can tracks by artists who were influenced by Can, including Sonic Youth and U.N.K.L.E..^[16] Their ethnomusicological tendencies pre-date the craze for world music in the 1980s. While not nearly as influential on electronic music as Kraftwerk, they were important early pioneers of ambient music, along with Tangerine Dream and the aforementioned band. Many groups working in the post-rock genre can look to Can as an influence as part of the larger krautrock scene, as can New Prog bands such as The Mars Volta. Kanye West has sampled "Sing Swan Song" on his song "Drunk & Hot Girls" from his 2007 album Graduation. The UK band Loop was deeply influenced by Can for their repetitive polyrhythmic style, covering Can's "Mother Sky" on their Fade Out album.^[17]

In addition, Can also influenced "classical" avant-garde composers such as Bernhard Lang and Karlheinz Essl.

Their music has been used on the soundtracks of films including Deep End, Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, Morvern Callar, Norwegian Wood, and Los Abrazos Rotos.

Improvisation, recording and live shows[link]

Much of Can's music was based on free improvisation and then edited for the studio albums. For example, when preparing a soundtrack, only Irmin Schmidt would view the film and then give the rest of the band a general description of the scenes they would be scoring. This assisted in the improvised soundtrack being successful both inside and outside the film's context.^[18] Also, the epic track "Cutaway" from Unlimited Edition demonstrates how tape editing and extensive jamming could be used to create a sound collage that doesn't gel perfectly, and that the flashes of genius in the improvisation needed to be cut from long, unconsolidated recordings.

Can's live shows often melded spontaneous improvisation of this kind with songs appearing on their albums. The track "Colchester Finale", appearing on the Can Live album, incorporates portions of "Halleluhwah" into a composition lasting over half an hour. Early concerts found Mooney and Suzuki often able to shock audiences with their unusual vocal styles, as different as they were from one another; Suzuki's debut performance with Can in 1970 nearly frightened an audience to the point of rioting due to his odd style of vocalizing.^{[citation needed]} The actor David Niven was amongst the crowd who remained to hear what Can and Damo would do next.^[19] Asked later by Czukay what he had thought of the music, Niven replied: "It was great, but I didn't know it was music." After the departure of Suzuki, the music grew in intensity without a vocal centre. The band maintained their ability to collectively improvise with or without central themes for hours at a time (their longest performance, in Berlin, lasted over six hours), resulting in a large archive of performances.

Can made attempts to find a new vocalist after the departure of Damo Suzuki, although no one quite fit the position. In 1975, folk singer Tim Hardin took the lead vocal spot and played guitar with Can for one song, at two gigs, performing his own "The Lady Came From Baltimore". Malaysian Thaiga Raj Raja Ratnam played four dates with the band between January and March 1976, all of which were recorded, and did considerable studio work with them. Another vocalist, Englishman Michael Cousins, toured with Can in March (France) and April (Germany) 1976. Audiences in France disapproved of his presence and literally spat at him while on stage.^{[citation needed]} There are eight recordings of Cousins performing with the band.

Band members[link]

Core[link]

• Holger Czukay – bass guitar, sound engineer, electronics (1968–1977, 1986–1991)
• Michael Karoli – guitar, vocals, violin (1968–1979, 1986–1991)
• Jaki Liebezeit – drums, percussion (1968–1979, 1986–1991)
• Irmin Schmidt – keyboards, vocals (1968–1979, 1986–1991)

Other members[link]

• David C. Johnson – reeds, winds, electronics and tape manipulation (1968–1969)
• Malcolm Mooney – vocals (1968–1969, 1986, 1991)
• Damo Suzuki – vocals (1970–1973)
• Rosko Gee – bass, vocals (1977–1979)
• Rebop Kwaku Baah – percussion, vocals (1977–1979)

Additional collaborators[link]

• Manni Löhe – vocals, percussion and flute (1968)
• Duncan Fallowell – lyrics (1974)
• Peter Gilmour – lyrics (later 1970s)
• René Tinner – recording engineer (later 1970s)
• Olaf Kübler of Amon Düül – tenor saxophone (1975)
• Tim Hardin – vocals & guitar (November 1975)
• Thaiga Raj Raja Ratnam – vocals (January–March 1976)
• Michael Cousins – vocals (March–April 1976)

Discography[link]

• Monster Movie (1969)
• Soundtracks (1970)
• Tago Mago (1971)
• Ege Bamyasi (1972)
• Future Days (1973)
• Soon Over Babaluma (1974)
• Landed (1975)
• Flow Motion (1976)
• Saw Delight (1977)
• Out of Reach (1978)
• Can (1979)
• Rite Time (1989)

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Pascal Bussy & Andy Hall. The Can Book. Tago Mago, 1986.
• Pascal Bussy & Andy Hall. The Can Book. Saf Publishing, 1989.
• Bussy, Pascal. Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music. SAF Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-946719-70-5
• Rock: The Rough Guide (second edition), Penguin, 1999.
• Martin C. Strong's Great Rock Discography (fifth edition), MOJO Books, 2000.
• The New Musical Express Book of Rock, Star Books, 1975, ISBN 0-352-30074-4.

External links[link]

• Spoon Records.com – The official Can website
• Biography at Mute Records
• Can discography (short) – With credits and sleeve details
• Can discography (extensive) – Albums, collections, compilations, collaborations, live and solo recordings
• BBC Radio 1 – John Peel sessions
• Can at Allmusic
• An interview with Irmin Schmidt – Schmidt discusses Can's film scores
• Yoo Doo Right – A performance in memory of Michael Karoli (1948–2001)
• Then I Saw Mushroom Head: The Story of Can – A book excerpt about Can
• Was Ist Das? – A general site about Krautrock
• Datenverarbeiter vs. Jaki Liebezeit Online-Album Givt
• Crawdaddy! reprint of "Can Laundered" – 1976 article and interview

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

The Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people, places, politics, arts, First Nations, sports and science.

The website also provides access to the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia Junior Edition, Maclean's articles and Timelines of Canadian history.

History[link]

Canada had been without a national encyclopedia since the 1957 Encyclopedia Canadiana.

In response, in the 1980s the Canadian nationalist Mel Hurtig launched a project to create a wholly new Canadian encyclopedia with support from Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed.^[1] The Editor in chief James Harley Marsh recruited more than 3,000 authors to write for it.

The first edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia was published in three volumes in 1985 (ISBN 0-88830-269-X) and was a Canadian bestseller (150,000 sets sold in six months), and a revised and expanded edition was released in 1988 (ISBN 0-88830-326-2). In September 1990, Hurtig published the five-volume Junior Encyclopedia of Canada (ISBN 0-88830-334-3), the first encyclopedia for young Canadians.

Hurtig sold his publishing company to McClelland & Stewart in May 1991 and with it the encyclopedia.^[2] In 1995, McClelland & Stewart published the first digital CD-ROM edition (ISBN 0-7710-2041-4). Today, The Historica Dominion Institute, a not-for-profit foundation, publishes the encyclopedia for free online.

See also[link]

• List of online encyclopedias

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• "The Canadian Encyclopedia Blog "

Gary Barlow
Barlow performing with Take That, 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Gary Barlow
Born	(1971-01-20) 20 January 1971 (age 41) Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Genres	Pop, pop rock, soft rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, performer, record producer, record programmer, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Sony, Polydor, Future, San Remo[1]
Associated acts	Take That
Website	www.garybarlow.com

Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and the head judge^[2][3][4] on the The X Factor.^[5][6][7] Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters. He has had two Number 1 singles and a Number 1 album as a solo artist, and has had sixteen top 5 hits, eleven Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That.^[8][9] He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 45 million records worldwide with Take That.^[10][11]

History[link]

1970–89: Early life and career[link]

In Barlow's autobiography, he relates that his love of music began at an early age.

"I was one of those kids that's forever dancing in front of the TV looking at my reflection."

He said he enjoyed watching Top of the Pops on television, and when he was ten years old, he watched an episode of the programme in which Depeche Mode were performing their new single "Just Can't Get Enough". Barlow was mesmerised by the sound and decided he wanted a keyboard for Christmas. For the next few years, he spent most of his spare time teaching himself to play his favourite songs.^[12]

In 1986 Barlow entered a BBC Pebble Mill at One Christmas song competition with "Let's Pray For Christmas". After getting through to the semi-finals, he was invited to London's West Heath Studios to record his song. This inspired Barlow to perform on the northern club circuit, singing cover versions and his own songs. Barlow's first performance was at the Connah's Quay Labour Club in the late eighties and he was paid £18 per performance on Saturday evenings.^[12][13]

In 1989 he appointed Wigan show business agent Barry Woolley to be his manager and recorded a single ("Love Is in the Air") which was never released commercially. Barlow was eventually put in touch with casting agent Nigel Martin-Smith, by renowned celebrity photographer Michael Braham, who first took Gary's first professional head-shots. Nigel is a friend of Michael's, and introduced Gary to Nigel who was interested in starting a boyband. Martin-Smith decided to use Barlow as the lead-singer after being impressed by his self written material including an early demo tape of Barlow's "A Million Love Songs" concluding that the band will be built around Barlow's vocals and songwriting skills.

1990–1996: Take That[link]

Barlow, who wrote the majority of the group's songs, is generally recognised as the musical talent behind Take That.^[14][15] After choosing Barlow as the group's lead-singer, Nigel Martin-Smith introduced Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and finally Robbie Williams to the fold. The UK group were signed to RCA records, and after a number of top 40 hits, eventually secured their first Number 1 with Barlow's "Pray". Previous hits included "A Million Love Songs", "It Only Takes a Minute" and "Could It Be Magic".

The debut album Take That & Party was released on 17 August 1992. It reached number 2 on the UK Album Chart. The following year saw the release of their second album, Everything Changes based on Barlow's own material. It went straight in at number 1 in the UK Album Chart and spawned four number 1 singles, as well as "Why Can't I Wake Up With You" and "Love Ain't Here Anymore" hitting number 2 and 3 respectively.^[16] Barlow received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 1994 for the number 1 hit song "Pray" included on the album.^[17] Their third album Nobody Else, again based on Barlow's own material, went straight to number 1 and was to be their last studio album of the 90s. The album had three number 1 singles, including Barlow's "Back for Good" which peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100^[18] and was brought forward an unprecedented 6 weeks before its official release such was the demand for the single.^[19] A Greatest Hits collection followed again reaching number 1. The album featured the band's eighth number 1 single "How Deep Is Your Love". This was to be the first single released by Take That as a four piece (without Robbie Williams) and it was their last single until they reformed in 2005. In 1994 Barlow alongside Rick Astley did backing vocals for Elton John's version of Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King.

1996–2000: Solo career[link]

[edit] Open Road

Barlow's solo career was predicted to be very successful, being described as 'the next George Michael'. His first two solo singles "Forever Love" (released July 1996) and "Love Won't Wait" (composed by Madonna and Shep Pettibone) both leapt to the number one spot in his home country. Forever Love was also used as the soundtrack to the film The Leading Man. His debut album Open Road reached number 1 in the UK Album Chart and went on to sell 2 million copies worldwide.^[20] Barlow's first ever single to be released in the United States as a solo artist was "So Help Me Girl" which reached Number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and Number 1 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. He then achieved another top ten hit in the UK with "Open Road" peaking at number 7^[21] and a number 8 in the Netherlands with "Are You Ready Now".^[21]

[edit] Twelve Months, Eleven Days

After the success of his first solo album he released his second LP Twelve Months, Eleven Days in 1999. Barlow released "Stronger" as the lead single preceding the album. However, due to an expected backlash against Barlow, it received minimal support and airplay and peaked at number 16.^[21] The second single "For All That You Want" again was subjected to minimal radio play and peaked at number 24, however it peaked just outside the top 5 in Finland.^[21] Twelve Months, Eleven Days was released soon after the second single to little promotion and peaked at a disappointing number 34, which led to Sony recalling Barlow's 'greatest' song according to critics, the scheduled third single from his second album "Lie to Me".^[22] This resulted in both Barlow and BMG parting company. To date Barlow has sold 4 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

2010-present[link]

In February 2010 a project named 'Helping Haiti' was formed by Simon Cowell in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The aim was to bring some of the most recognised music stars across the world together to record a charity single with all proceeds going to the cause. Gary Barlow, along with an array of stars were asked to appear on the cover of Everybody Hurts which sold 453,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling charity record of the 21st century in Britain.^[23]

Barlow's first solo release since 1999 was a duet with reconciled Take That bandmate Robbie Williams on a single entitled Shame. The single was written by both Barlow and Williams after they begun to work together in L.A on new material for a new Take That album following Williams' return to the band. On the first day of the song being released to the radio and the media Shame received an unprecedented 694 plays on the radio and 153 plays on TV.^[24] The single peaked at number 2 in the UK, being certified as Silver by the BPI, whilst also charting in 19 countries worldwide.^[25]

Barlow's announced in January 2011 that he was to hold a solo concert entitled GB40 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire to celebrate his 40th birthday and his 20 years in the music industry with all money going to the Prince's Trust charity.^[26] The concert received praise from critics^[27] as Barlow was joined by guest appearances from Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding, Midge Ure and his bandmates from Take That, whilst also receiving recorded birthday messages from a number of celebrities such as Chris Moyles, Peter Kay, Elton John and Robbie Williams.

In September 2011, it was announced that Gary Barlow would be headlining BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.^[28] Barlow's performance was praised by critics as he returned to Hyde Park as a solo artist for the first time since 1999.^[29]

On October 24, 2011 Barlow announced that he was to play his first two full solo concerts in 11 years at the Royal Albert Hall entitled Gary Barlow: In Concert, with all proceeds going to the Prince's Trust charity. These concerts sold out 'minutes' after going on sale^[30] and were praised by fans and the media alike with Barlow playing the biggest hits from his 20 year career.^[31][32]

In December 2011, Gary Barlow performed a duet with Michael Bublé singing Rule The World and Bublé's single, Home. The performance gained great reception from fans, where it began trending worldwide on Twitter.^[33] Soon after it was broadcast, a petition was set up for the collaboration to be made available for digital download to challenge for the Christmas Number 1 spot.^[34]

In April 2012, Gary Barlow recorded a cover of Here Comes The Sun that was used in the 2012 summer promotion advertisement for Marks and Spencer with him appearing in the advert at the end performing the song.

2006-present: Reformation of Take That[link]

Barlow returned to the limelight in a successful TV documentary, Take That: For the Record in 2005. Following this success and renewed interest, Take That experienced a career renaissance in 2005 when the post-Williams line-up reformed for a sell-out stadium tour. The band released their comeback single "Patience" which went to number 1 for four weeks whilst also topping the charts across Europe. Patience was also voted The Record of the Year in 2006 and won a Brit for single of the year.^[35] This was followed with "Shine" which became the band's tenth number 1 single. Take That's first album of new material in over ten years, Beautiful World was released on 24 November 2006. The album peaked at number 1 in the UK Album Chart selling over 2.8 million copies in the UK alone to date.^[36] It was re-released as a tour edition with hit single "Rule the World" in 2007 and peaked again at number 1.

In 2008, the band were nominated for four Brit Awards (Best British Group, Best British Album, Best British Single and Best British Live Act). They won Best British Single and Best British Live Act. After great success in 2006, Take That released the single "Greatest Day" which went straight to number 1 and became their eleventh number 1 single in the UK. The week after they released their second album since their reunion in 2006, The Circus which was the most preordered album of all time.^[37] The Circus album was also a great success for Take That going straight to the top of the UK album chart and selling over 2.2 million copies across the country, going multi platinum within 4 days of its release.^[25][38] In June and July Take That performed a record breaking tour named Take That Present: The Circus Live throughout the United Kingdom selling sold over 1 million tickets in just 5 hours.^[39]

It was announced that Barlow was in the process of writing Take That's much anticipated sixth studio album, set for release in late 2010.^[40] The album, Progress, was the first to feature the original line-up since their 1995 album, Nobody Else. The band also announced a stadium tour entitled Progress Live which will take place in 2011.^[41] The tickets for the tour went on sale on 29 October 2010. Due to unprecedented high public demand for tickets, ticketmaster websites across the UK and Ireland crashed and all initial tour dates sold out in under 15 minutes.^[42] It was reported that a record breaking one million tickets were snapped up on the first day of sale, resulting in Take That smashing the previous box office record of tickets sold which was set in 2008 by Take That Present: The Circus Live.^[43][44] Due to unprecedented demand Take That added more dates to their tour, finishing in the UK with a record breaking 8 consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium after which the tour will then commence throughout Europe with an estimated 1.75 million people expected to attend the shows.^[45]

The lead single from Progress was announced as "The Flood". The single debuted at number 2, selling over 500,000 copies since release. On the first day of the release of Progress, the album sold over 235,000 copies across the UK, making it the fastest selling record of the century.^[46][47] On 21 November 2010, Progress debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's seventh number-one album.^[8] By the end of its first week on sale the album sold over 520,000, making it the second fastest-selling album of all-time in UK chart history.^[48] To date Progress has sold 2.8 million copies in the UK^[49] and has achieved similar chart success across Europe. In June 2011, Take That released their first extended play collection entitled Progressed which returned the band to number 1 in the UK on its first week of release as well as charting across Europe.

The media have widely acknowledged Barlow's talent and labelled him as the mastermind behind the unprecedented success of Take That's comeback^[50] and the new musical direction they have taken.^[51]

Other projects[link]

Songwriting and publishing[link]

After leaving his career as a solo artist Barlow returned to his first love of writing music. He soon signed a song writing publishing deal with Sony and went to the U.S. on a six-month songwriting project, residing in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York with his wife, Dawn and first child, Daniel. Upon his return he set up True North Productions with Elliot Kennedy and Tim Woodcock. In his autobiography 'My Take' Barlow partly blames his fall as a solo artist on his commitments to being a star in the United States. After his disappointing second album, Barlow remained out of the public eye for half a decade, choosing to continue to write songs for other artists such as Shirley Bassey and Charlotte Church In October 2007, Barlow founded San Remo Live Publishings as an independently run management company to establish and support artists and songwriters.^[52]

Gary Barlow has recently signed a new 5 year song writing publishing deal with Sony music.^[53] He has been voted as the greatest British songwriter of all time in a 2009 OnePoll, who surveyed 3000 people^[54][55] John Lennon was second and Paul McCartney of The Beatles was third.^[54]

In 2011, Barlow wrote the song "Run for Your Life" for The X Factor series 7 winner Matt Cardle's debut album. Cardle told The Sun: "We had 99% of the album finished then the track came through from Gary. I'd been trying to write a song like that for a long, long time, probably five or six years. As soon as I heard it I just felt the song was mine. Lyrically it's about not being good enough for the person you're with. I was nearly in tears recording the vocals. I'm proud that I've written a lot of the album but Gary is a genius as a writer - I couldn't pass it up."^[56] He has also written for the likes of Robbie Williams, Westlife, Lily Allen, Blue and Dame Shirley Bassey and many more.

Future Records[link]

In 2009 Barlow began work on his own record label Future Records, under the umbrella of Universal Music, and signed his first artist, classical singer Camilla Kerslake.^[57] Since then Barlow has also signed UK rapper Aggro Santos to his label^[58] and the winner of Sky 1s Must Be The Music, Emma's Imagination.

[edit] X Factor

On 7 May 2011, it was announced that Barlow was in advanced talks to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on The X Factor.^[5][6][7] He was officially confirmed as a judge on 30 May alongside the returning Louis Walsh, and fellow new judges Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Contostavlos, who replaced Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.^[59][60] Barlow was given the Boys category for the live shows and mentored Marcus Collins to the final of the X Factor where he became runner up.

After a successful debut as head judge on the X Factor in 2011, ITV producers opened talked with Barlow to return for a second series as head judge. ITV sources believe that 'while viewing figures were down a few million [during series 8], the feeling is it would have been worse without Gary' and so have offered Barlow a substantial increase on his £1.5million salary from last year to ensure that he returns to the panel. On 17th of April 2012 it was announced that Gary Barlow will return to The X Factor for a second year, he was the first judge to be announced to be returning.^[61]

Outside music[link]

Acting career[link]

In 2000, Barlow made his acting debut in the ITV1 drama Heartbeat. This was the 150th edition of the show. He played hitch-hiker Micky Shannon.^[62]

Social media[link]

In October 2011 Barlow joined Twitter live on the Xtra Factor to build support for the contestants he mentored during series 8 of the X Factor. Almost immediately after he joined Twitter his following totalled at over 265,000 people.^[63] Within two months of joining Twitter, Barlow reached over 1 million followers.^[64]

Charity work[link]

Gary organised a sponsored climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief. Barlow and eight other celebrities: Cheryl Cole, Ben Shephard, Alesha Dixon, Kimberley Walsh, Fearne Cotton, Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen and Ronan Keating, made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro safely on 7 March 2009, raising millions for Comic Relief.^[65]

Gary's charity efforts in 2009, including his organising of the BT Comic Relief Kilimanjaro Climb and his organising of 'Children In Need Rocks', raised in excess £6 million. In addition to the charity events organised by Gary, the pop star has also shown support for fellow artists' charity efforts including that of Ronan Keating. The pair sang Take That's Back for Good written by Barlow at Ronan's Emerald and Ivy Ball^[66] in Battersea, South London, on Saturday. The starry bash raised £650,000 for Cancer Research UK.

His organisation of a very special event at the Royal Albert Hall went ahead in November 2009 and was broadcast the following week. This saw a meeting of Take That with Robbie Williams on stage and a number of unusual duets (including Dame Shirley Bassey with Dizzy Rascal and Take That with Lily Allen). Gary dedicated the band's song "Rule the World" to "everyone whose lost someone – Dad, this is for you". It was a very special night raising £2M and ending with Gary seeming to promise it could be an annual event.

It was announced in December 2009 that Barlow had been awarded the prestigious Blue Peter Gold Badge, awarded for outstanding achievements and inspiring children to realise their talents and achieve.^[67]

To celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary Gary invited family and many friends to a special event in London. It was a rare event that Gary allowed a popular magazine to photograph the event. A highlight was a special Bingo session hosted by Gary. Money raised at the event was donated to Barnardo's.

Towards the end of 2009, there has been a huge Twitter campaign to 'Get Gary Knighted' for all of his charity work over the years.^[68][69] The campaign has been mentioned and endorsed by many celebrities, including Chris Moyles of Radio 1.

Barlow appeared at Twickenham Stadium to perform the hit single "Shame" alongside Robbie Williams in aid of the Help for Heroes charity on 12 September 2010.^[70]

Gary Barlow has also donated the original handwritten lyrics to his number 1 hit single Back for Good to help raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Barlow wrote the song in 1995 and it went on to top the charts in 31 countries across the world as well as becoming a top ten hit in America.^[71]

In January 2011 Gary Barlow held a special show, named GB40, at Shepherd's Bush Empire to celebrate his 40th birthday. This event saw him take to the stage on his own for the first time in over eleven years as he performs songs that span a his 20 year career in music. He has also announced that all of the profits from the show went to charity.^[72]

It has been announced that Gary Barlow is planning to organise a charity walk to the North Pole to raise money for BBC Sport Relief.^[73]

After the phenomenal success of 'Children In Need Rocks' in 2009, it was announced by Barlow that he is to organise it once again this time in Manchester, with some of the biggest acts in the music industry scheduled to appear. Barlow also confirmed that all proceeds will go to Children in Need.^[74] The concert was received positively by the media, with them praising the involvement of Gary Barlow in the Children in Need project.^[75][76]

As well as organising the Children in Need concert, Barlow announced he was to helm the official single for the charity, a cover of 'Teardrop' accompanied by a number of artists known as 'The Collective'.^[77] The CIN Rocks concert, single and gala contributed to £26 million raised for Children In Need that year.^[78]

During the week of Children in Need 2011, Barlow organised a celebrity gala with all proceeds going to the charities associated with Children In Need.^[79]

Barlow also donated all proceeds from his Gary Barlow: In Concert event to The Prince's Trust charity. He said: "I hope the money raised through these concerts will make a real difference to young lives. It's really important to me that disadvantaged young people get the support they need, especially at the moment."^[80]

At the beginning of May 2010, it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had asked Gary Barlow to organise her 85th birthday and her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. A source said: "Her Majesty has been made well aware of his charity work and the events he has put together. She knows that Gary has got the power to pull in the big names across the music industry and to ensure it's a party to match the occasion".^[81][82] This was confirmed on February 2012 with Gary Barlow being named as the lead organiser and producer of a concert that will take place outside of Buckingham Palace and featuring globally recognised superstar artists.^{[83][84][85][86]} Barlow said "The Diamond Jubilee concert will celebrate the 60 years of The Queen's reign with an amazing lineup of world-class artists coming together to play at one of the biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years."^[84]

Personal life[link]

Gary married Dawn in 2000, who was a dancer on their 1995 Nobody Else Tour. They have three children, Daniel (born 2000), Emily (born 2002) and Daisy (born 2009). On 19 February 2012, Barlow announced that he and his wife Dawn were expecting their 4th child.^[87] Later, he revealed that the child would be the couple's third girl. ^[88] He revealed in his autobiography that he is a supporter of Liverpool FC with their anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone" being one of the first songs he learned to play on piano.^[89] He is also a supporter of rugby league team, Warrington Wolves.

In his autobiography My Take, Barlow mentions he was on the Edgware Road tube train that was one of the targets of the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

In 2009, Barlow named "Don't Give Up", the 1986 duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, as the song that had most inspired him. He said: "I don't think you can listen to this song without feeling inspired, it could save anybody. The lyrics are so inspirational. Specifically I was having a very low moment in the 1990s and the song came on the radio. There have only been a very few times when I've had to pull the car over to listen to a song – this was one of them."^[90]

Barlow's father Colin died aged 71 on 15 October 2009.^[91] The singer rushed back to his parents' home in Frodsham, Cheshire, and cancelled an engagement to launch his celebrity-packed Children in Need show,^[92] whilst also postponing the launch of the Take That edition of Singstar.

During the 2010 General Election campaign, when the party announced their intention to encourage musical achievement amongst young people in schools with a competition called School Stars. Barlow appeared at a school staged campaign event and sang "Greatest Day", backing the introduction of the programme by Conservative Party leader, David Cameron.^[93]

Discography[link]

Songs written by Barlow[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Books[link]

• Gary Barlow: My Take. Bloomsbury Publishing 2006, ISBN 978-0-7475-8764-4
• Gary Barlow: My Take. Bloomsbury Publishing 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-8806-1 (paperback edition, updated to include Take That's comeback)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• BT Red Nose Climb Gary Barlow and celebrity friends set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief
• X Factor 2011 UK community

The Marshall Tucker Band
Marshall Tucker Band on July 4, 2006
Background information
Origin	Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
Genres	Southern rock, country rock, rock and roll
Years active	1972–1983, 1988–present
Labels	Capricorn, Warner Bros., Mercury, Cabin Fever, Ramblin'
Associated acts	Charlie Daniels
Website	www.marshalltucker.com
Members
Doug Gray Pat Ellwood Rick Willis B.B. Borden Marcus James Henderson Stuart Swanlund
Past members
Toy Caldwell Jerry Eubanks George McCorkle Tommy Caldwell Paul Riddle Franklin Wilkie Ronnie Godfrey Rusty Milner Tom Robb Ace Allen Tim Lawter Don Cameron Frank Toler Mark Pettey Ronald Radford Paul Thompson Garry Guzzardo David Muse Chris Hicks Clay Cook Tony Heatherly

The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel^[1] helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s.^[2] While the band had reached the height of its commercial success by the end of the decade, the band has recorded and performed continuously under various lineups for nearly 40 years.^[2]

The original lineup of the Marshall Tucker Band, formed in 1972, included lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Toy Caldwell (1947–1993), vocalist Doug Gray (b. 1948), keyboard player and flutist Jerry Eubanks (b. 1950), rhythm guitarist George McCorkle (1946–2007), drummer Paul Riddle (b. 1953), and bassist Tommy Caldwell (1949–1980). They signed with Capricorn Records and in 1973 released their first LP, The Marshall Tucker Band. After Tommy Caldwell was killed in an automobile accident in 1980, he was replaced by bassist Franklin Wilkie. Most of the original band members had left by the mid-1980s to pursue other projects.^[3] The band's lineup as of 2009 consists of Gray on vocals, guitarist Stuart Swanlund, keyboard player and flutist Marcus James Henderson, guitarist Rick Willis, bassist Pat Elwood, and drummer B.B. Borden.^[4]

Name origin[link]

The "Marshall Tucker" in the band's name does not refer to a band member, but rather a Spartanburg-area piano tuner. While the band was discussing possible band names one evening in an old warehouse they had rented for rehearsal space, someone noticed that the warehouse's door key had the name "Marshall Tucker" inscribed on it, and suggested they called themselves the "The Marshall Tucker Band," not realizing it referred to an actual person. It later came to light that Marshall Tucker, the blind piano tuner, had rented the space before the band, and the landlord had yet to change the inscription on the key.^[1]

In his book, Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002, music historian Joel Whitburn attributes "Marshall Tucker" to the owner of the band's rehearsal hall.^[5]

History[link]

Early history[link]

The original members (and some later members) of the Marshall Tucker Band had been playing in various lineups under different band names around the Spartanburg area since the early 1960s. In 1966, members of several such bands merged to form the Toy Factory, named after guitarist Toy Caldwell. The Toy Factory's constantly-shifting lineup included, at times, Caldwell, Caldwell's younger brother Tommy, Doug Gray, Jerry Eubanks, George McCorkle, and Franklin Wilkie. In the late 1960s, bandmembers served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and saw action in the Vietnam War. By the 1970s, Toy Caldwell and George McCorkle had returned to Spartanburg, and the Toy Factory had resumed playing in area clubs.^[6] In fact, in 1970 the Toy Factory was the opening act for the Allman Brothers when the Allman's played at the "Sitar" music lounge in Spartanburg.

In 1972, Caldwell and McCorkle once again revamped the band's lineup, eventually settling on Tommy Caldwell on bass, George McCorkle rhythm guitar, and Jerry Eubanks, flute/tenor sax, while adding Paul Riddle on drums; the new lineup adopted the name "Marshall Tucker Band." Wet Willie lead singer Jimmy Hall told Toy Caldwell to book the band at Grant's Lounge in Macon which he did. After hearing the band play at Grant's Buddy Thornton and Paul Hornsby recorded the band's demo at the Capricorn Studio in Macon, Ga. Frank Fenter and Phil Walden signed The Marshall Tucker Band based on those demos.

1970s[link]

The Marshall Tucker Band's self-titled debut, produced by Paul Hornsby, was released in 1973, and certified gold in 1975.^[7] All of the tracks were written by Toy Caldwell, including "Can't You See", which was released in 1973 on Capricorn 0023 ("Bubbled Under" at #108 on 1 September 1973) and re-released in 1977 on Capricorn 0278 (peaked at #75 on 24 September 1977). After the album's release, the band began touring, playing upwards of 300 shows per year throughout the decade.^[7] Southern rock fiddler Charlie Daniels later recalled that the Marshall Tucker Band "came onstage and just blew it out from start to finish."^[8]

Daniels' first of many collaborations with the Marshall Tucker Band came on the band's second album, A New Life,^[8] which was released in 1974, and certified gold in 1977.^[7] Daniels and blues guitarist Elvin Bishop were among several musicians that joined the band for Where We All Belong,^[8] a double-album (one studio album and one live album) released by the band in 1974 and certified gold that same year. The following year the band's Searchin' for a Rainbow was also certified gold the year of its release, and contained the track "Fire on the Mountain," which peaked at #38 on the Billboard charts. Long Hard Ride, the band's fifth consecutive gold album, was released in 1976,^[8] and its instrumental title track (which again features Charlie Daniels on fiddle) was nominated for a Grammy.^[9] Carolina Dreams, released in 1977 and certified platinum that same year, proved to be the band's most commercially-successful album, and included the track "Heard It In a Love Song," which reached #14 on the Billboard charts.^[7] The band's final Capricorn release came with 1978's Together Forever, which was produced by Stewart Levine.^[8]

1980s[link]

The Marshall Tucker Band moved to Warner Bros. Records for their ninth album, Running Like the Wind, although they retained Levine as the album's producer. On April 22, 1980, the band's bassist, Tommy Caldwell, was involved in an automobile accident in which he suffered massive head trauma, and died six days later. Former Toy Factory bassist Franklin Wilkie replaced Caldwell, but the band was never able to recapture its commercial success of the 1970s. After 1983's Greetings from South Carolina, the band split up.^[2]

In 1988, Gray and Eubanks reorganized the Marshall Tucker Band to record the album Still Holdin' On, their one and only release on the Mercury Records label. Although Gray and Eubanks added new members Rusty Milner, Stuart Swanlund, and Tim Lawter, Still Holdin' On was primarily recorded with studio musicians. The newer members had a much greater role, however, on the band's 1990 album, Southern Spirit, released on the Sisaspa label. The album marked a return to the band's country and blues roots.^[10]

1990s[link]

In 1992, the Marshall Tucker Band produced its first album for the Cabin Fever label, Still Smokin', which managed to crack the top 70 on the Billboard charts. The band's 1993 release, Walk Outside the Lines, marked a transition to a more country sound, relying less on long improvised jams that were the trademark of the band's early career.^[11] The album's title track was co-written by country music star Garth Brooks, a long-time fan of the band who considered writing a track for them a "milestone" in his career.^[7]

For 1998's Face Down In the Blues, the band added Spartanburg-area guitarist Ronald Radford and multi-instrumentalist David Muse, the latter replacing Jerry Eubanks, who had retired in 1996.^[8] Gospel, the band's 1999 album, featured the band's rendition of traditional songs such as The Wayfaring Stranger and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, as well as several original tracks.

Recent history[link]

The Marshall Tucker Band continued recording and performing into the 21st century, playing between 150 and 200 shows per year.^[1] The band reissued many of its albums from the 1970s on its new Ramblin' Records label, as well as two two-disc compilations, the first (Anthology) being a 30-year retrospective and the second (Where a Country Boy Belongs) being a collection of the band's country songs. In 2004, they released another studio album, Beyond the Horizon, and the following year released a Christmas album, Carolina Christmas.

"Can't You See" was used for the opening and closing credits of the Kevin Costner 2008 motion picture Swing Vote. "Take the Highway" was also used in the movie.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Swampland's Legends of Southern Rock, Marshall Tucker
• The Marshall Tucker Band on Myspace