George McCorkle remembers the late Toy Caldwell,
his friend and former Marshall Tucker Band mate, as "a guy who could write on
command."
Indeed, almost all of Marshall Tucker's best-known songs were written by
Caldwell. But it is McCorkle's hit song, "Fire on the Mountain," that will
represent the band's place in the history of country music. Curators at the
Country Music Hall of Fame museum in Nashville, Tenn., called McCorkle in hopes
of collecting some Marshall Tucker Band memorabilia as they prepared for their
mid-May move into a new, more spacious facility. "They said they'd like to have
something in the Hall of Fame, and I said, 'Yeah, I could go for that,' "
recalled a "floored" McCorkle, who lives in Nashville. One of the pieces of
history he uncovered was a long-forgotten notebook containing the original,
handwritten lyrics of "Fire on the Mountain," which he claims to be the first of
his songs the band ever recorded. "When George would write a song, it would be a
good one," former bandmate Paul Riddle observed. The Hall of Fame folks
considered it a good find, too: the notebook page containing McCorkle's
now-famous lyrics are part of the museum's display on the band. Though the
Marshall Tucker Band is not often thought of as a country group, both McCorkle
and Riddle recalled that country influences colored its music. Caldwell, who in
addition to his songwriting talents earned legendary status as a guitarist,
picked up ideas as a kid at the bluegrass festivals he attended with his father.
And McCorkle grew up a "western swing and shuffle fanatic." Country sounds,
along with blues and jazz influences, can be heard in much of Marshall Tucker's
music, including the steel guitar introduction and loping beat of "Fire on the
Mountain." John Rumble, a music historian at the Hall of Fame, says the Southern
rock sound of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and the Marshall
Tucker Band are an essential part of country music. While much of the Hall of
Fame museum focuses on the lives and music of such country stars as George
Jones, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams Sr., the Hall of Fame also wanted to
include examples of "country's dramatic expansion" through the years. In
Rumble's view, "Fire on the Mountain" is a particularly apt example of the
connection between Southern rock and country music. "These were long-haired
country boys who had that sense of freedom - much like folk and early country
music - which I think is expressed in 'Fire on the Mountain,' " he said. Quoting
McCorkle's lyrics - "There's gold in them hills, and it's waiting for me there"
- Rumble said the song speaks to a love for adventure and the romance of the Old
West that runs deep in country music and in American culture. "Fire on the
Mountain" may be McCorkle's most famous song, but he continues to write
professionally in Nashville. He currently works out of his home studio and
publishes his own material. He's seen the ups and downs of recording in
Nashville, where songwriting can be "so competitive it's frustrating." Recent
successes include a song he and fellow Spartanburg native David Ball wrote for
Ball's album "Play" as well as "Cowboy Blues," recorded by Gary Allan for his
gold-selling album "Smoke Rings in the Dark." Still, for McCorkle, who can
recall when Marshall Tucker was so popular that life as a band member was like
"living in the big world of fantasy," the latter-day recognition of his song is
something special. "I was just at a party and some girl came and said, 'I saw
the lyrics to your song at the Hall of Fame,' " he said. "There's not many
things that have ever flipped me out like that."
Baker Maultsby can be reached at 582-4511, Ext. 7425 or baker.maultsby@shj.com.
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George McCorkle, "American Street,"
October Street Inc.
It's been eight years since a guitar player from the original Marshall Tucker
band released a solo album.
The last was Toy Caldwell's excellent self-titled effort, released in 1992.
Caldwell passed away in February of 1993, and that CD has now been re-titled
"Son of the South" and reissued on Charlie Daniels' Blue Hat label. George
McCorkle was often thought of as the MTB's other guitarist. His guitar work
added to the group's propulsive rhythm section, which featured drummer Paul T.
Riddle and bass man Tommy Caldwell. And, while Caldwell wrote the bulk of the
Spartanburg-based group's material, McCorkle authored FM radio staple "Fire on
the Mountain." For the past few years, McCorkle has been a Nashville songwriter,
working in a town where mainstream acts such as Travis Tritt and Clint Black
often draw from the Southern rock sound popularized by the Tucker boys. Now
McCorkle has released his own 12-song disc, and it's both a welcome addition to
the Tuckers' extended canon and a statement of the guitarist's own original
vision. Perhaps most surprising to those familiar only with McCorkle's rhythm
work in the MTB is his prowess as a lead guitarist. McCorkle plays every
electric guitar lead on the disc, immediately dispelling the notion that he is
most effective in a supporting role. McCorkle also produced the disc, layering
many of the arrangements with horns and background vocalists and allowing the
songs to exist in the rarely traveled musical territory between J.J. Cale's
Oklahoma and Wilson Picket's Muscle Shoals. "Crazy Molly Monroe" and "American
Street" are ballads in-line with "Fire on the Mountain." But McCorkle is also
comfortable stepping into a bluesier role, as evidenced by "Law Called This
Morning" and "Rocket Shoes." * * * Leftover Salmon, "The Nashville Sessions,"
Hollywood Records It's rare that a "friends and family" disc is as wholly
realized and consistently engaging as Leftover Salmon's latest. This is one of
those "let's pull out the Palm Pilot, check some phone numbers and start asking
for favors" discs, where Nashville's best musicians, including Waylon Jennings,
Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas and Lucinda Williams, lend support. And it works
extraordinarily well, in large part because of the Salmons' willingness to (like
the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band before them) step out of the spotlight at times. The
group becomes a fine backup ensemble on Williams' "The Lines Around Your Eyes,"
presenting the song in a new musical setting but not attempting to impose on
Williams' lead vocals. The numerous guests seem to add a focus to the affair
that was missing from the band's earlier recorded efforts. Songs, including
originals "On the Other Side" and "Another Way to Turn," are sharper, less
meandering and just plain better. It's a breakthrough effort for a band that had
previously come off as something less than the sum of its parts. Listeners who
once passed on the fish may well ask for second helpings of "The Nashville
Sessions."
Peter Cooper can be reached at peter.cooper@shj.com or call 582-4511, Ext. 7426.