Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of 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 the late Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers.
Early life
A young Trucks (right) with musician Livingston TaylorTrucks age 9–10 with the Gregg Allman band
Trucks bought his first guitar at a yard sale for $5 at age nine and became a child prodigy, playing his first paid performance at age 11.[2][3] Trucks began playing the guitar using a slide because it allowed him to play the guitar despite his small hands as a young guitarist.[4] By his 13th birthday, Trucks had played alongside Buddy Guy[5] and toured with Thunderhawk.[3][6]
Trucks built a studio in his home in January 2008, which he and his band used to record their album: Already Free. Trucks and his wife, Susan Tedeschi, combined their bands to form the Soul Stew Revival in 2007, and performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June 2008.[11][12][13][14] In late 2009, Trucks and his band went on hiatus, after which the band dissolved. In 2010, Trucks formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife.[14][15] On January 8, 2014, Trucks announced that he and fellow guitarist Warren Haynes planned to leave the Allman Brothers Band at the end of 2014.[16] That band announced its retirement, with Trucks playing as a member through their final show on October 28, 2014, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
His music is rooted in blues and rock, embracing jam band, Southern rock, and jazz.[20][21] Trucks plays an eclectic blend of blues, soul, jazz, rock, qawwali music (a genre of music from Pakistan and western India), Latin music, and other kinds of world music[22] Trucks became a fan of Khan, a Hindustani classical musician known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod and popularising Indian classical music in the West, often in conjunction with sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar. Trucks studied at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California.[23][24] Speaking of Khan, Trucks says "there are two recordings, which are part of my 'desert-island' disc… One is called Signature Series Volume II. Whenever I need to wipe the slate clean, I listen to it."[25]
Trucks plays guitar in an open E tuning,[26] using his signature glass slide by Dunlop, modeled off of an old Coricidin bottle but without the seam.[27]
Trucks has appeared twice in Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[22][28][29] He was listed as 81st in 2003 and 16th in 2011. A 2006 article in The Wall Street Journal described him as "the most awe-inspiring electric slide guitar player performing today".[24] In 2007, Trucks appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone for an article called the "New Guitar Gods".[18] Trucks is a creative guitarist according to his uncle, the late Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks: "He never does the same thing twice".[30] In 2009, Ernest Suarez of The Washington Post described Trucks' guitar style as "notes and chords that soar, slice, and glide, sounding like a cross between Duane Allman on a '61 Gibson Les Paul and John Coltrane on tenor sax".[31] The Derek Trucks Band's album Already Free debuted at number 19 on the Billboard Top 200 chart,[32] and number one on the Internet chart, number four on the rock chart, and number one on the blues chart.[11][32]
In September 2012, John Mayer and Derek Trucks joined B.B. King on stage at the Hollywood Bowl for an encore version of B.B.'s song "Guess Who". Concluding the performance, B.B. King made several remarks about Trucks's guitar work, ending with, "That's about as good as I've ever heard it—as good as I've ever heard it, and I mean it".[37]
Trucks' late uncle, Butch Trucks, was a founding member and drummer of The Allman Brothers Band. His younger brother is Duane Trucks, who is a member of Widespread Panic and Hard Working Americans.[6] His great-uncle, Virgil Trucks, was a major league baseball pitcher in the 1940s and 1950s, winning 177 games in his career.[38]
^Clash, Jim (2007). "Rocker Derek Trucks". Forbes Magazine's Adventurer Column. pp. Video version. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
^Sterdan, Darryl (February 12, 2012). "Grammy award lifetime achievements". jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
