Laurel Canyon Music

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Searchin' For A Rainbow - The Marshall Tucker Band (1975)

Our next LCM Classic is a great track 'Searchin For A Rainbow' first released in 1975 from Southern rock country Marshall Tucker Band. Which we think has touches of The Eagles. The band are originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina whose blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. 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.

The original lineup of the Marshall Tucker Band, formed in 1972, included lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Toy Caldwell (1947–1993), lead vocalist Doug Gray (born 1948), keyboard player, saxophone player, and flautist Jerry Eubanks (born 1950), rhythm guitarist George McCorkle (1946–2007), drummer Paul Riddle (born 1953), and bassist Tommy Caldwell (1949–1980). They signed with Capricorn Records and in 1973 released their first LP, The Marshall Tucker Band.

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 call 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 his name was inscribed on the key. In his book, Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002, music historian Joel Whitburn attributes "Marshall Tucker" to the owner of the band's rehearsal hall.