The Will Tucker Band

Artist Information

Biography

www.willtuckermusic.com

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 19 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 three 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, 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.gomemphis.com/news/2009/jun/12/listen-up-budding-rocker-off-to-bluesy-start-on/

Will produced his first CD in the fall of 2009 called "Stealin' the Soul" at Ardent Studios with Grammy nominated producer, Paul Speer. His CD can be purchase from his website, iTunes or Amazon.com.

In 2010, The Will Tucker Band played regularly at BB King's every Friday and Saturday night. In May, Will joined Randy Jackson in LA to record on the soundtrack to 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.

Will was voted 3rd Best Blues Musician behind BB King and Al Green in 2010 “Memphis Most .” In 2011, Will was the runner up in three "Memphis Most" categories: Best Band, Best Blues Performer and Best Performer. He was featured in the international travel show, "Music Voyager - Tennessee," with the legendary Bobby "Blue" Bland. Will's performance at the annual Beale Street Music Festival drew approximately 2,000 fans, maxing out the capacity of the Blues Tent. He will appear again in May 2013 for his third year at the Beale Street Music Festival. He plans to release his second CD during 2013.

Instrumentation

Randy Middleton - Bass
Chris Stephenson - keyboard
Rodd Bland - Drums

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

Official Website

http://www.willtuckermusic.com

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• YouTube

Audio

• Your Sacrifice
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Your Sacrifice

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• A Review of Stealin' the Soul [+ Show ]
  

  Blues Bytes Review of Will Tucker: Sixteen-year-old Will Tucker probably looks like the kid that ...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.
  

Setlist

Typical set - 3 sets of 45 minutes
Acoustic and Electric
Original plus covers by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Allman Brothers, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Elvis, etc.

Cold Shot - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King
Sweet Sixteen - BB King
My Babe - Little Walter
Pride And Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

Statesboro Blues - Blind Willie McTell
Done Somebody Wrong - Elmore James
All Your Love (I Miss Loving) - Otis Rush
Evil - Howlin' Wolf
Crosscut Saw - Albert King
Don't Lie To Me - Albert King
Lenny - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Testify - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Cissy Strut - The Meters
I Just Want To Make Love To You - Muddy Waters
Burning Love - Elivs Presely
One Way Out - Sonny Boy Williamson
Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
Your Sacrifice - Will Tucker
Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Basic Requirements

Calendar