The Will Tucker Band
Memphis, Tennessee, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | SELF
Music
Press
Blues Bytes Review of Will Tucker:
Sixteen-year-old Will Tucker probably looks like the kid that cuts your yard during the summers, but don’t let looks fool you. The youngster burst onto the Memphis music scene in 2008 and has been playing regular gigs at B. B. King’s Blues Club in the Bluff City, getting the opportunity to play with musicians like Charlie Musselwhite, G. Love & Special Sauce, and even opening for the King of the Blues on three different occasions.
As if that wasn’t heady enough, Tucker now has his own CD, called Stealin’ The Soul (Will Tucker Music), produced by Grammy nominee Paul Speer at Ardent Studios. The disc is made up almost entirely of covers from familiar artists like Muddy Waters (“Walkin’ In The Park”), Albert King (“Born Under A Bad Sign”), T-Bone Walker (“Stormy Monday”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny Be Goode”), and Jimi Hendrix (“Little Wing”).
The last four songs were recorded during a Will Tucker Band performance at B. B. King’s Blues Club in Memphis. They cover a wide area with songs from Memphis Minnie (“When The Levee Breaks”), Elvis Presley (“Burning Love”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”) and Jimi Hendrix (“Little Wing”).
While these fields have been well-harvested many times before, what’s noteworthy is the passion and grit that Tucker brings to his performances. He doesn’t try to cram every note into every solo, instead playing with tasteful restraint. It’s obvious from his playing that he has a genuine love for the music. Vocally, he does really well with the material. From listening, he sounds like a confident, mature performer. He’s also a budding composer, as he contributed the opening cut, “Your Sacrifice,” showing that even high schoolers get the blues.
All in all, this is a nice debut recording from a remarkable young guitarist. We’ll be hearing more from young Will Tucker on down the line. Stealin’ The Soul gets things off to a fine start.
- Blues Bytes
Blues Bytes Review of Will Tucker:
Sixteen-year-old Will Tucker probably looks like the kid that cuts your yard during the summers, but don’t let looks fool you. The youngster burst onto the Memphis music scene in 2008 and has been playing regular gigs at B. B. King’s Blues Club in the Bluff City, getting the opportunity to play with musicians like Charlie Musselwhite, G. Love & Special Sauce, and even opening for the King of the Blues on three different occasions.
As if that wasn’t heady enough, Tucker now has his own CD, called Stealin’ The Soul (Will Tucker Music), produced by Grammy nominee Paul Speer at Ardent Studios. The disc is made up almost entirely of covers from familiar artists like Muddy Waters (“Walkin’ In The Park”), Albert King (“Born Under A Bad Sign”), T-Bone Walker (“Stormy Monday”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny Be Goode”), and Jimi Hendrix (“Little Wing”).
The last four songs were recorded during a Will Tucker Band performance at B. B. King’s Blues Club in Memphis. They cover a wide area with songs from Memphis Minnie (“When The Levee Breaks”), Elvis Presley (“Burning Love”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”) and Jimi Hendrix (“Little Wing”).
While these fields have been well-harvested many times before, what’s noteworthy is the passion and grit that Tucker brings to his performances. He doesn’t try to cram every note into every solo, instead playing with tasteful restraint. It’s obvious from his playing that he has a genuine love for the music. Vocally, he does really well with the material. From listening, he sounds like a confident, mature performer. He’s also a budding composer, as he contributed the opening cut, “Your Sacrifice,” showing that even high schoolers get the blues.
All in all, this is a nice debut recording from a remarkable young guitarist. We’ll be hearing more from young Will Tucker on down the line. Stealin’ The Soul gets things off to a fine start.
- Blues Bytes
JANUARY 25, 2015 (Memphis, Tennessee) – Saturday, January 31st at 5 pm, local Memphis guitar-slinger, Will Tucker, will release his second CD, “Worth the Gamble,” at B.B. King’s Blues Club where he has been playing every weekend for the past six years. “You could say I’ve grown up at B.B.’s, developing my style and growing my fan base,” said Will Tucker, five time finalist and winner of Memphis Best. “This album has been a long time coming, but I’m hoping that everyone will agree it has been worth the wait!”
“Worth the Gamble” includes five new original compositions that showcase Will’s evolving rock and blues style. Five covers and two acoustic bonus tracks round out the CD. Featured musicians include Will’s house band members, as well as Memphis studio legends, Dave Smith and Steve Potts. A live track of Robin Trower’s “Too Rolling Stoned” hits a sentimental note as the strong bass performance comes from Will’s long time bassist, Randy Middleton, who passed away this past July.
Will co-produced “Worth the Gamble” with Paul Speer, a Grammy nominated producer with over 250 albums to his credit. “Will Tucker's sophomore album firmly establishes him as the rising star to watch in the blues/rock world,” says Speer. Recorded at Ardent Studios, Will’s exceptional guitar licks and strong vocals stay true to his Memphis music heritage.
“Worth the Gamble” is currently available for digital pre-order on iTunes and will be available for full purchase both digitally and physically on January 31st. Physical copies will be available at the CD release party, and in the B.B. King’s gift shop following the release date. All Will Tucker releases will also be available for purchase on willtuckermusic.com.
The CD Release party is open to the public. For more information, contact B.B. King’s Blues Club at 901-524-5464.
About the band: http://www.sonicbids.com/band/thewilltuckerband/
Twenty-one year old Will Tucker is a blues vocalist and guitarist, playing on Beale Street since he was 15. Will has a long list of accomplishments and accolades which include opening for BB King, playing with Charlie Musselwhite and John Stamos, and recording with Randy Jackson. A full biography can be found on Will’s website, www.willtuckermusic.com/bio or at the link above on SonicBids. Photography by David Bunk, Reel 2 Reel Photography.
### - Press Release
Discography
Stealin' the Soul - Will Tucker
Ardent Studio/Memphis, TN
Steve Potts: Drums
David "Davy" Smith: Bass
Lester Snell: Hammond organ
Will Tucker: Guitar and Vocals
Mike Wilson: Engineer
Live at BB King's Blues Club/Memphis, TN
Pete Mendillo: Drums
Randy Middleton: Bass
Joe Boogie: Keyboards
Will Tucker: Guitar and Vocals
Al Davis: Engineer
Overdubs and Mix at Rainstorm Productions/Memphis, TN
Adam Gussow: Hohner harmonica
Produced by Paul Speer
Photography by David Bunk
Photos
Bio
Will Tucker was raised on blues and southern rock in Memphis, Tennessee. He was playing drums at age five, piano at eight, and guitar at age twelve. Little did he know that in the summer of 2008 when he performed at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi that he would soon be a regular at nationally renowned BB King’s Blues Club on Memphis' Beale Street.
Will was discovered by Memphis BB King’s Blues Club owner, Tommy Peters, who calls Will “the axe man” and refers to him as “a 22 year old guitar prodigy who exploded onto the Memphis music scene.” Peters began putting Will to the test with different bands at BB King’s in Memphis and Orlando. After opening five times for BB King when he performed in Memphis, Will formed a band who now performs at BB King’s Blues Club every weekend. During 2008 and 2009, Will performed on stage with Charlie Musselwhite, G. Love and Special Sauce, and the Beach Boys with John Stamos.
In January 2009, Will opened for R&B star Angie Stone at the Martin Luther King Peace and Freedom concert. He and his trio performed in the 2009 International Blues Challenge which was promoted with a performance on “Live at 9” on WREG-TV in Memphis, TN and appeared on ESPN during the 2008 Liberty Bowl. Will was fortunate to play the guitar one-on-one with ZZ Top legend Billy Gibbons and has received special interest from notable musicians such as David Porter, the late Jimi Jamison, and Keith Sykes. He was featured in the Memphis Commercial Appeal along with a link to his original song, “Your Sacrifice.” http://www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/listen-up-budding-rocker-off-to-bluesy-start-on-beale-ep-394125773-324259201.html
Will released his first CD in the fall of 2009 called "Stealin' the Soul" at Ardent Studios with Grammy nominated producer, Paul Speer. In 2015, Will and Paul co-produced his second CD, "Worth the Gamble" which includes five original songs written by Will.
Since 2009, The Will Tucker Band has played regularly at BB King's every Friday and Saturday night. In May 2010, Will joined Randy Jackson in LA to record on the soundtrack for the made-for-TV movie," The Jensen Project". In a follow up project, Will's original, "Your Sacrifice", was included on the soundtrack to "A Walk In My Shoes," a movie shown on NBC and sponsored by P&G/Wal-Mart.
In 2013 and 2016, The Will Tucker Band was voted Best Local Band in Memphis in the Commercial Appeal's MemphisMost contest. In 2010, Will was voted 3rd Best Blues Musician behind BB King and Al Green in “MemphisMost .” In 2011, Will was the runner up in three "Memphis Most" categories: Best Band, Best Blues Performer and Best Performer. He has finished in the top three for Best Blues Performer every year since. He was featured in the international travel show, "Music Voyager - Tennessee," with the legendary Bobby "Blue" Bland. In 2013, Will received The Blues Ball Memphis Sound Award, an award won in years past by legends such as Carl Perkins, The BarKays, Teenie Hodges, and "Little Milton" Campbell. Will's performances at the annual Beale Street Music Festival draw approximately 3,000 fans, maxing out the capacity of the Blues stage.
Will was cast in the CMT TV series, "Sun Records," where he plays the role of Scotty Moore, the guitarist in Elvis Presley's original trio.
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