Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are just an ordinary married couple with two children and one of the greatest Blues, Southern Rock, Soul, and Americana bands in the world. Of course, to get where they are they each paid their dues and earned impressive pedigrees.
Susan loved to listen to her father’s Blues records when she was a kid. She sang for family, and in her church choir, and gave her first public performance at the age of six. Later, she decided Catholic hymn music wasn’t as inspiring as African-American Baptist gospel, which she preferred and where she most often attended church. At the age of thirteen she joined her first band, and at eighteen she formed her first band featuring all-original songs. Susan graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in musical composition and performance from Berklee College of Music at age twenty. While in college, she sang in the gospel choir and sang show tunes on stage with the Spirit of Boston. Incidently, she was also out jamming the blues on her guitar at local nightclubs. After college, she formed the Susan Tedeschi Band and opened shows for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones, among others. Her singing inspirations and influences include Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Ronnie Earl, and Billie Holiday. Guitar influences include Buddy Guy, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Freddie King.
Derek was nine years old when he bought a second-hand guitar – his first – at a local yard sale for five dollars and became an overnight child prodigy. It didn’t hurt that his uncle was Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, and his parents named him after Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos. At eleven years old, he got his first paying gig. At thirteen he was playing on stage with Buddy Guy and touring with Thunderhawk. Derek formed his own band in 1993, about age 14. By the time he reached twenty, he’d performed with Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills. He became a full-time member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999 after appearing with them as a guest for a number of years. In 2007, he was invited to play at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. He then toured as part of Eric Clapton’s band. Duane Allman and Elmore James were big influences, but he was also inspired by John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Django Reinhardt, Johnny Winter, Freddie King and B.B. King. Twice he has made Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. This first video is Derek jamming on stage with The Allman Brothers Band, at age fourteen.
“Derek Trucks – “Layla/Jam” July 4th 1993″ (7:00):
Susan and Derek were married on December 5, 2001. In 2010, they formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band. You’ll recognize some of these classic tunes they cover. Other material they’ve written you may not be familiar with.
“Tedeschi Trucks Band – Angel From Montgomery/Sugaree ” (7:43):
“Tedeschi Trucks Band – Darling Be Home Soon (Official Live Video)” (9:48):
“Tedeschi Trucks Band – Midnight in Harlem (Live from Atlanta)” (6:34):
“Tedeschi Trucks – The Sky is Crying @ Royal Albert Hall” (8:50):
“Tedeschi Trucks Band – Tell The Truth (Official Music Video)” (7:08):
“Tedeschi Trucks Band – “Tell Mama” (with Sharon Jones)” (5:45):
“The Tedeschi Trucks Band, “I Pity The Fool,” with epic Susan solo 12/2/2017, Boston, MA” (8:59):
Question Of The Night: What was the best concert you ever saw?
