Backstage with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band
No Lies Radio Music – By Teri Perticone – Sun May 15, 2022
Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) in Jacksonville, Florida is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of the Grammy Award-winning[1]The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010 he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. His musical style encompasses several genres and he has twice appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He is the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers.
Trucks bought his first guitar at a yard sale for $5 at age nine and became a child prodigy, who played his first paid performance at age 11.[3][4] Trucks began playing the guitar using a slide because it allowed him to play the guitar despite his small, young hands.[5] By his 13th birthday, Trucks had played alongside Buddy Guy[6] and toured with Thunderhawk.[4][7]
Trucks formed The Derek Trucks Band in 1994, and[3][8] by his 20th birthday, he had played with such artists as Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills.[9] After performing with The Allman Brothers Band for several years as a guest musician, Trucks became a formal member of the band in 1999[3] and appeared on the albums Peakin’ at the Beacon, Live at the Beacon Theatre, Hittin’ the Note and One Way Out. In 2006 Trucks began a studio collaboration with Eric Clapton called The Road to Escondido and performed with three bands in 17 different countries that year.[3] Trucks was invited to perform at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival, and after the festival, he toured as part of Clapton’s band.[3][10].
Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee,[1] she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band (originally known as “Soul Stew Revival”), which is a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’s the Derek Trucks Band, and other musicians.
Susan Tedeschi was born on November 9, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, to a family of Italian ancestry and was raised in Norwell, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Dick Tedeschi, granddaughter of Nick Tedeschi and great-granddaughter of Angelo Tedeschi, founder of Tedeschi Food Shops, a New England-based supermarket and convenience store chain.[3] Tedeschi made her public debut as a six-year-old understudy in a Broadway musical. As a youth she sang for family members and listened to her father’s record collection of old vinyl recordings of musicians such as Mississippi John Hurt and Lightning Hopkins. Raised as a Catholic, she found little inspiration in the church choir and attended predominantly African-American Baptist churches, feeling that the music was “less repressed and more like a celebration of God.” In bands since the age of 13, she formed her first all-original group at 18, the Smokin’ Section, in the nearby town of Scituate.[4]
After graduating Norwell High School, Tedeschi attended the Berklee College of Music, where she sang in a Gospel choir. She performed show tunes on the Spirit of Boston and received her Bachelor of Music degree in musical composition and performance at age 20.[1] During that time, she began sitting in on blues jams at local venues and immersed herself in the Boston music scene.
Tedeschi formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1993[1] featuring Tom Hambridge and Adrienne Hayes. She learned how to play blues guitar in Boston from musician Tim Gearan in 1995. It was then she really began to hone her skills on the instrument. In December the band released Better Days to regional audiences.
In 1999, Tedeschi played several dates in the all-woman traveling festival Lilith Fair organized by Sarah McLachlan.[4] Throughout 1998 and 1999 she toured extensively throughout the United States and drew larger crowds.
Eventually Tedeschi was opening for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan. In 2000, Just Won’t Burn (1998) reached Gold record status for sales of 500,000 in the United States, rare for a blues production. She recorded two tracks with Double Trouble band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon for their album.
She opened for The Rolling Stones in 2003 and played in huge venues, gaining national exposure. Somewhat surprisingly, the gig wasn’t financially lucrative. According to Tedeschi, “They pay, but it’s not great. I don’t make any money ’cause I’ve got to pay all my sidemen. I’ll be lucky if I break even.”[6]
In 2004, Tedeschi was featured on the PBS show Austin City Limits, flanked by William Green, on Hammond organ, Jason Crosby, playing keyboards, violin, and vocals, bassist Ron Perry, and Jeff Sipe, on drums. The performance was extremely well received.[7]
In December 05 2001, Tedeschi married Allman Brothers Band slide guitarist Derek Trucks, who was also the bandleader and lead guitarist of The Derek Trucks Band. The pair met in New Orleans when she was the opening act on the Allman Brothers Band’s 1999 Summer Tour. They have two children: Charles Khalil Trucks, born in March 2002, is named for saxophonist Charlie Parker, guitarist Charlie Christian, and author Khalil Gibran. Sophia Naima Trucks, born in 2004, takes her unusual middle name from the John Coltrane ballad, composed in honor of his first wife. They reside in Jacksonville, Florida.[9]
Soul Stew Revival at Mizner Park with Derek Trucks December 28, 2007
Tedeschi with her powerful vocals and Trucks on guitar complement one another, and toured together frequently under the name Soul Stew Revival. This included members of The Derek Trucks Band, members of Susan Tedeschi’s band, and other musicians who travelled with them, including Trucks’s younger brother, drummer Duane Trucks. In 2008, they added a three-piece horn section.
After touring together in 2007 as the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival, the couple merged their respective groups to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010.[1] Their first concert was on April 1, 2010, at the Savannah Music Festival.[citation needed].
The first Tedeschi Trucks Band album, Revelator, was released in June 2011.[2] The album peaked at No. 92 on the Canadian Albums Chart,[3][citation needed] No. 164 in the UK Albums Chart[4] and won a Grammy Award for Best Blues Album.[5]
Susan Tedeschi “Don’t think Twice” Bob Dylan cover
Their second album, Everybody’s Talkin’ was recorded live and released in May 2012.[6]
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Angel From Montgomery/Sugaree
Tedeschi Trucks Band – “Tell Mama” (with Sharon Jones) Etta James cover
In 2013, the band was nominated for the Blues Music Awards [7] and released their third album, Made Up Mind.[8]
Tedeschi Trucks – The Sky is Crying @ Royal Albert Hall
The band gave a Joe Cocker tribute concert at the 2015 Lockn’ Festival[9] featuring alumni musicians from Cocker’s bands.[10]
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Lets Go Get Stoned Bob Dylan cover
Tedeschi Trucks Band – “Anyhow” (Live in Studio)
Video sources: www.youtube.com & www.vevo.com
Posted by Teri Perticone
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