The Marshall Tucker Band, which was founded in Spartanburg in 1972, is set to be profiled by veteran journalist Dan Rather on his national television show, “The Big Interview with Dan Rather.” During the hour-long program, which airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18 on AXS-TV, MTB frontman and co-founder Doug Gray sits down for an exclusive in-depth interview in which he and Rather discuss the band’s nearly five-decade career and the history of southern rock. Visit axs.tv for local listings.
“What a great pleasure being with and having a nice conversation with Mr. Dan Rather,” Gray said in a news release. “Although I had just met him, I felt as if we had known each other for years.”
From the early years of the band to the present day, Gray and Rather dig deep to tell the story of one of the most successful groups in the history of southern rock. Rather also gets personal with Gray about his upbringing, his drive to perform and the darker moments of life on the road.
“The many things that we talked about brought out great memories, as well as some sad for both of us,” Gray said. “What a great guy. Thank you sir for a great time and for allowing us to tell the story of The Marshall Tucker Band.”
In a “sneak peek” clip posted to YouTube, Rather asks Gray about the time the Marshall Tucker Band played at a nudist festival in Wisconsin.
While noting in the clip that the band did not perform in the buff, Gray recalled with a laugh, “The only thing that I could say was, ‘this is not a very good day to tell you that we have merchandise and t-shirts over here for sale.'”
Driven by such classics as “Can’t You See,” “Heard it in a Love Song,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “24 Hours at a Time,” the Marshall Tucker Band is a 5-time Gold- and 3-time Platinum-selling group that has sold millions of albums worldwide.
UltimateClassicRock.com crowned the MTB’s “Can’t You See” as the No. 1 Southern Rock Song and, in 2011, the group — which was founded by Gray, Toy Caldwell, Tommy Caldwell, Jerry Eubanks, George McCorkle and Paul T. Riddle — was among the inaugural inductees for the Spartanburg Music Trail, a series of signposts in the downtown Spartanburg that recognize musicians from the city who made a national or international impact.