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Tennessee is a state so rich in music history it would take a book to cover the contributions each city and small town has made to creating new genres and expanding others.  For right now, it’s a tale of three cities, Memphis, Jackson and Nashville, and one town so small its population was listed as 1,048 on the 2010 US Census. That little town is called Bradford.  

When it comes to music, when people think of Memphis, they think of the blues, jazz and a little rockabilly.  Jackson? I don’t know what immediately comes to mind. Maybe the Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash song “Jackson”?  As for Nashville, sure it’s called Music City, USA, but let’s face it, everyone thinks it’s all country music, all the time.  

Let me throw a few quick factoids at you.  Memphis has produced a multitude of musical talent over the years.  Names such as Sam & Dave, Charlie Rich, Saliva, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Andrew VanWyngarden (MGMT), Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s), Al Green, John Lee Hooker, Zach Myers (Shinedown), Sam Phillips (Founder, Sun Records), Juicy J, Isaac Hayes, Justin Timberlake, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Cooper (Skillet), Johnny Burnette, Roy Orbison, Albert King, Estelle Axton (Co-founder, Stax Records), B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Booker T. Jones, Ike Turner and Gary Talley (The Box Tops).  That’s quite a list, isn’t it? That’s the highly-abridged version, believe me.  

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Jackson might be a smaller city, but it’s done pretty well in sending some musically-inclined citizens into the world.  They include people like Big Joe Turner, Big Maybelle, Brandon Lay and Carl Perkins. Although the next two aren’t exactly musicians, both of their accomplishments can most certainly be connected to the music industry.  There’s Joe Rogers, Sr., co-founder of Waffle House, the chain that never closes. Many a musician has sought out a meal after a gig at one of these 24-hour diners. Then there’s Isaac Burton Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chain.  Countless bands have played on Hard Rock stages across the globe. So, I’m giving Rogers and Tigrett honorable mentions and yes, they both hail from Jackson, Tennessee. 

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Now, what about tiny Bradford?  What, of note, do I have to say here?  Well, Bradford is the Doodle Soup Capital of the World!  Yes! Once a year you can even visit Bradford for Doodle Soup Days which is a festival celebrating the town’s most famous delicacy.  They have a parade with floats and everything. You’re wondering what Doodle Soup has to do with music, right? Oh? You want to know what Doodle Soup is!  That’s easy. Doodle Soup is a broth that’s made from the drippings of roasted chicken or game, mixed with salt, vinegar, cayenne pepper, water, sugar and flour.  Typically, it’s eaten as a soup with crackers or some type of bread, or poured back over the roasted meat as a flavoring.

Photo courtesy of doodlesoupdays.com

Alright, Doodle Soup in Bradford, that’s fine.  What about the famous musicians? Well, as far as I can tell, there really aren’t any super notable ones.  Yet. This is where our story really begins. Buckle up. We’re hitting the fast lane on I-40 East from Memphis to Nashville to learn who Tucker Carroll is, and we’re going to figure out why people stop in their tracks to watch him play guitar.  We know two things. He’s been in Music City less than a year, and he’s already turning the heads of some important people in the music industry, and he is not a fan of Doodle Soup.

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Tucker Carroll was born in Jackson, Tennessee and raised in Bradford.  “It’s a super small town,” Carroll said. The youngest in his family, he had a fairly typical childhood, attending Bradford Elementary School.  “I loved learning. I loved to read. I was a book nerd. By the time I was in second grade I had a twelfth grade reading level,” Carroll told me.  It was a good thing Carroll was such a good student because as much as he enjoyed soaking up all that knowledge, he also missed a lot of school. He suffered from childhood migraines and spent a good deal of time at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center because of that.  He mentioned his third grade teacher, Miss Angela Henry, as someone who was extremely supportive, and he remains forever grateful to her. He explained, “She had bad migraines too. I could relate to her. She’s an angel. She’s the best.” Eventually, as he got older, the migraines resolved.

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So, was there any music being played in the house or the car when Tucker Carroll was growing up?  One would wonder if a child who suffered migraine headaches that frequently could handle the sound of music in the background?  The answer is yes, there was, and Carroll was listening to it. There was Y2Kountry and WHHG 92.3 FM Classic Rock in his dad’s vehicle.  His grandfather, Charles Leamon Carroll, played rockabilly, so that was yet another genre that made up the soundtrack of Tucker Carroll’s formative years.  “My mom always said I was ‘hyperaware’, so I know I was listening,” Carroll confirmed.

Santa was awfully generous that Christmas when Carroll was eight-years old.  Somehow, the elves stuffed a full-sized drum kit into Santa’s bag. They were a cool shade of blue and the attached tag was clearly marked, “Tucker”.  Never mind that the kit dwarfed the kid playing it, because Carroll got pretty good at those drums. Good enough that he was allowed to play a gig at the Yorkville Community Center, even though, to hear Carroll describe his performance, it was “really just banging”.  Call it what you want, technically, it was his first experience playing with a band, and despite the fact that Carroll has labeled himself an introvert since he was very young, he loved playing that gig. A spark had been lit.  

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Those drums were nice.  They’re still nice, and Carroll still has them in storage, but the world kept turning, revealing a brand new chapter in his musical history.  When Carroll was about ten-years old and back on the road to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, his dad made a stop at the Sam Ash music store in Mason, Ohio.  Carroll said, “My father bought me a little Martin acoustic guitar. I was a tiny kid so it fit me perfect. It felt right. My father taught me three chords. I learned D, A and G.  I just kept switching between those chords over and over. On the way home from Cincinnati, I learned the entire Willie Nelson Red Headed Stranger CD in the car.  Every song.”  

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That may not have been three chords and the truth, but it sure was three chords and “hooked”, because once Carroll realized he could learn to play an entire album on the guitar, almost totally on his own, he only wanted to learn more.  He credits The Bandstand music store (Jackson, TN) employee, Robin Ehrett for giving him a lot of help. He never took formal lessons from him, but he still learned a lot, and they still communicate to this day.  

Carroll said he’s always striving to be better and he’s his own harshest critic.  His dedication to learning his craft is apparent. He’s mainly self-taught and he told me more than once during our interview that he is constantly looking for ways to be different.  That’s something he’s been doing since he first started playing guitar and as hard as he was trying to formulate new methods of playing the same old songs, it wasn’t in vain. Someone else was watching.

Remember, Tucker Carroll was still quite young when he was teaching himself guitar, just 13-years old.  He was also doing the usual 13-year old things. Going to school, playing in the Elam McKnight Band, you know, regular things that boys that age do.  Wait. You aren’t familiar with the Elam McKnight Band? You didn’t know that Tucker Carroll was part of that band? Don’t worry. I had no idea about any of that before either.  

Elam McKnight is a friend of Carroll’s mom.  He heads up the Elam McKnight Band. Before Carroll joined them, they were a three-piece band, with McKnight, Dudley Harris and Eddie Phillips.  They invited Carroll to play a set with them one time and wouldn’t you know, he was so good, they put him on full-time. It might be interesting to mention that these were all adult musicians.  The kid clearly had some chops.

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Taking stock of things, Carroll now had band experience playing drums and guitar.  Not bad for a boy who had just hit his teens, but was he a flash-in-the-pan? Maybe.  I suppose it depended on who you asked back then. I mean, Jackson had a bit of a music scene, there may have been some folks that knew talent when they heard it.  Bradford? We might be better to leave that alone for now. They do soup festivals really well. Social media was always a place to get opinions, and as we all know, everyone has one.  Carroll began posting some of his guitar videos to Facebook, more specifically, to a Facebook group he was a member of. The group was geared to fans of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I took a look at the various Lynyrd Skynyrd fan groups on Facebook today.  Most have several thousand members. I don’t imagine things were much different many years ago.  In any event, Carroll posted videos of himself playing Lynyrd Skynyrd cover songs in one of these groups.  Some time passed, life went on, and one day, out of the blue, Mr. Ed King, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s longtime guitarist, was inviting Tucker Carroll out for lunch.  Of course, because he was a minor, this was all discussed over the phone with Carroll’s parents. Apparently, King was one of the thousands perusing the Lynyrd Skynyrd fan group and had seen Carroll’s videos.  It peaked his interest. He wanted to meet this young guitarist. Off to lunch they went, King, Carroll and Carroll’s parents. It went really well.

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

King began giving Carroll guitar pointers via text and email.  A while later, Carroll and his mom were invited to King’s home.  While Carroll’s mom and King’s wife chatted in another room, Carroll and King talked guitars.  Not only did they talk guitars, they looked at guitars, and they played guitars. Amazing guitars.  “I was afraid to touch them,” related Carroll, “they were unbelievable.” Why was King so interested in a then-14-year old boy that happened to play guitar?  The answer was really simple. He saw a lot of himself in Carroll.  

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Carroll cherishes those years that King mentored him and he still refers to the tips that he gave him.  Carroll shared two of King’s last tips to him that came in as texts. “Last thing he told me was I needed to learn more arpeggios and learn how to connect, because he could tell I was running out of places to go on the fretboard.  I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t even realize that,’ so, I did what he said, and I feel like I fixed that problem.”

“Then another one of the last texts he sent me was, he said he’d been keeping up with my Facebook posts and I was lookin’ good and all I needed now was to find a good woman to cook for me and take care of me.”  He laughed after relating that one. I guess that story is to be continued because he didn’t give me any indication that he “fixed that problem” yet. 

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Carroll speaks very highly of Ed King and in many ways, you can tell he still finds it hard to believe that he was ever so fortunate to have had his guidance, without ever having asked for it.  He said he owes so much to him, and the only thing he regrets is that King is no longer here to see what he’s doing now, because he knows he would be really proud of him. King passed away August 22, 2018 in Nashville.  

Photo courtesy of Ultimate Guitar

How does it get better than having one of the most revered guitarists in rock and roll history suddenly come out of nowhere and take you under his wing?  Where does a kid go from there? For Carroll, the only option was to get better and that meant keep at it, but he wasn’t expecting the shock of a death in the family to be the catalyst to make that happen.  Around the time Carroll was 13-years old, his very dear grandfather, Charles Leamon Carroll died, and it hit him hard. His grief resulted in him being even tougher on himself when it came to practicing the guitar.

After school, every day, from 3:00 to 10:00 PM, Carroll would “play, play, play” to the point that his father would overhear him and later tell him that every night he was getting better and better.  He was on a mission.

As a young teenager working harder than ever to get things right and find ways to set himself apart from the crowd, did Carroll ever find himself so frustrated that he thought about quitting?  “Not really. There were times I would question it because the music business is tough,” he answered. I then asked him why he thought some people give up and he didn’t. “I think some people get put through the ringer differently,” he replied.

 As Carroll was on this daily pursuit to become the best guitarist he could, was Nashville on his future radar?  Or did he have other aspirations? He was quick to reply. “I always knew I wanted a career in music and I knew Nashville was a hotspot, Austin was pretty cool too.  I think everything happens the way it’s supposed to though. Family is really important to me and Nashville’s only three hours away. I’m glad it turned out that way.  It was the place to be. It worked out for me and as long as you’re making good music you’re where you need to be. Good music demands to be heard.”

Bands and artists that Tucker Carroll enjoys listening to, but aren’t necessarily influences for him, are a Memphis-based band called The Band CAMINO, Maggie Rogers, Jeff Healey, Sturgill Simpson, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Eric Johnson and The Goo Goo Dolls.

His influences include Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Gary Clark, Jr., Jason Isbell, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Rory Gallagher, Ed King and Duane Allman.  As far as influences go, Carroll thinks about his words carefully before he speaks. “A lot of people want to sound like somebody else. I have always worked hard to be different, although I admired the way certain people played.  I mean, you don’t have their fingers. You can’t ever play exactly like them.”  

Video courtesy of buttopb and YouTube

We talked quite a bit about this, as Carroll is passionate about some of the players mentioned above, and even more passionate about developing his own style, or styles of playing.  I say “styles” in the plural because this guy is not a one-trick pony as you will notice if you see him play live. He’s a young guy, but he already has the ability to go to great lengths to dazzle an audience with multiple finger styles.  Carroll enjoys playing without a pick. That’s something he’s learned from great guitarists such as Lindsey Buckingham. I was able to share a story with him. I sat front row center in Ottawa, Ontario several years ago and watched as Buckingham shredded out tunes like “Big Love” without a pick.  I’m not exaggerating when I say the thought actually entered my mind that I might leave that arena with traces of Buckingham’s DNA on my person from his fingertips. He is one of the true masters of playing without a pick.  

Video courtesy of Lindsey Buckingham and YouTube

Give the late, great Duane Allman the credit for showing Carroll the technique of playing with the rounded end of the pick.  This is something he is always looking to approach in new ways to create original sounds.  

Video courtesy of Allman Brothers on MV and YouTube

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Who, though, does Tucker Carroll consider to be the greatest guitar player ever?  What makes that person so special? He thought about it for a little while before he answered, because if there’s anything you need to understand about Carroll, it’s that he’s a sensitive person that doesn’t seem to want to “forget” someone he shouldn’t have.  After a few minutes, he spoke, “Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you can take your play to the top of your ability and take it even higher every single night, how can you not be considered the best?” When Carroll talks about Vaughn, his entire being glows. This is his guy.  You’ll find out more about why I believe that later, but yes, Stevie Ray Vaughn inspires Carroll in ways that no other guitarist does.  

Video courtesy of Stevie Ray Vaughn and YouTube

Although Carroll has played gigs around Jackson, Memphis’s famed Beale Street and around the country, it seems he’s finding Nashville to his liking so far.  Landing a gig playing bass with country artist Payton Taylor, he was content with that for a time, but Carroll is a guitar player, so he knew he couldn’t be a bassist forever, but here’s the irony of him handling that bassist position for a short while, it got him this interview.  

Video courtesy of William McClintic and YouTube

I first noticed Carroll as a bass player.  Sort of. Payton Taylor was playing at the opening of the Yee-Haw Brewing Company in Nashville.  She had a new bassist, or what I thought was a bassist. It was a guy playing a bass guitar anyway.  I leaned over to my friend and said, “Is he playing bass?” She answered, “Yes.” I couldn’t stop watching him.  I leaned back over and said, “He plays bass like he’s playing lead guitar.” That’s when I was informed that he really was a guitar player and was just playing bass until something else opened up for him.  I wasn’t the only person astonished by this new bassist in town. He was really something.

I was introduced to him after the show and knew I wanted to talk to him more.  Since then, Carroll has moved to playing guitar for Taylor and from all I’ve been hearing, audiences are noticing not only the on-stage chemistry he’s added with Taylor and her other bandmates, but his amazing skill set.  Everyone is wondering who this hot new guitarist in town is, and I’m happy Think Country is the first to give everyone the lowdown. 

Photo courtesy of Moonshine Beach and Tucker Carroll

If Carroll is anything at all, he’s humble.  More humble than almost anyone I’ve ever interviewed, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t confident in his abilities, he just knows he needs to always be working to improve and learn something new.  “I’ve always wanted to set myself apart from other people, ever since I was a little kid, not in a conceited way, I just wanted to be different,” he stressed. I asked him to elaborate and tell me what makes him unique as a guitar player.  Giving it the thought that he always does before answering, he finally said, “Space. Allowing the music to breathe. I take my time and let my play progress. When it comes time to play, I release what I’ve been anticipating. I play a note and hang on that note a bit.  I’m not into playing a hundred notes per second or overplaying. I mean, there’s a place for that, but it’s just not for me.”

We talked about speed metal and genres where playing fast is the norm and he acknowledged that those were areas where people are supposed to jam all those notes in, but obviously that isn’t what Carroll has ever been drawn to.  I sensed that he is much more of a creative person. He likes to learn something as it’s shown to him, then if it’s in his wheelhouse, he’ll take it and manipulate it in such a way that it becomes his own version. Most guitarists do this, it’s how well they do it, that either leaves them in the dirt or elevates them to another level.  

Carroll said, “It’s like, places you’ve never been before.  It’s weird because you’ll hear something back in a recording and you’re like, ‘I did that?’ It’s crazy.  It’s really fun. It’s like, as a guitar player, what you choose to do with your fingers and the notes that you play, and the space that you give the notes, that’s your voice.  It can be the littlest things, like how hard you play the strings or the way that you hit the strings, or the angle that you come at it. For me, using my fingers a lot, there’s so many things.  I could go on for hours. There’s a way you can hold the string and bend the one below it, and it creates a certain sound. It’s the tiniest things like that. Those are what can set you apart. Those tiny things can have the biggest impact.”

We talked more about him always wanting to be different.  He gave me a little more on that. “You know, it’s like, when I think about what I could be doing now, I could be back in Bradford and it’s nice, but look what I’m doing.  I’m playing music which I love. I’m traveling all over the country, meeting the best people. What I’m doing is wildly different from what other people back home are doing.  Life is just getting started for me. I’m really happy with how things are going. Being different is good and I think everyone, no matter what it is they want out of life, should do their own thing and be who they are.”  A great message for anyone, straight from Tucker Carroll.  

Photo courtesy of Tucker Carroll

Playing guitar for Payton Taylor.  How is that working out? Carroll is enjoying it.  He said it’s a good gig. There was a lot of travel right off the bat, with dates all around the country, including San Diego, Chicago and Ocean City, New Jersey.  He said he really liked playing Ocean City as it was a big cultural change from what he’s used to being from the south. He said the people were all so nice and he loved the food and the ocean.  He loved Chicago too. Playing a venue called Emerald Isle, the band had a blast. Carroll told me a quick story about that gig. “In between songs, I started playing the melody to ‘My Heart Will Go On’, the theme song from the movie Titanic.  This group of big, burly college guys started bawling and singing the song.  It was so awesome. We can’t wait to go back there. I’d play that place every week.”

Being in a band is a bit like being in a family.  You travel together and essentially, you live together for a good part of your life.  While you’re a regular Nashville side guy (meaning you’re not working for an artist signed by a label), it’s pretty much you and whoever else you’re playing with at the moment, handling all your own gear, and responsible for setting up before shows and packing up after shows. 

I’ve heard enough band “war stories” along the way, so I decided to ask Carroll his opinion on band member responsibilities, and what, if anything, should fall on to the artist.  “Here’s what I think. As a band, we’re there to make the artist sound the best they can. For rehearsals, band members should always come in knowing the material so time isn’t wasted.  Don’t learn material on everyone else’s time. Above all, be a good hang. No egos.” 

That was a great segway into the next topic.  I was about to ask if Carroll did any songwriting or if he had any future thoughts of doing session work or producing, but he caught me off guard by saying, “You know, I’m not going to be a side musician forever.”  Oh, really? Well, Tucker, you have the floor. He then proceeded to tell me that he’s been working with a vocal coach for about a year now and it won’t be long before he’s singing harmonies with Payton Taylor on stage.  He’s excited about that. He said Taylor has even given him high grades after hearing him sing solo. Obviously, Carroll has talents that go beyond drums and guitars. We’ll all be anxiously waiting to hear.  He also has some other projects happening, but for the moment, he can’t let those out of the bag.

As for my questions about writing, studio work and production, the answer to all three was yes.  In fact, Carroll has been writing for some time now. He wanted to mention Derek Wales as a co-writer that he works especially well with.  He read me some of the lyrics that Wales wrote, and I had to admit, he has a way with words. I imagine they could come up with some tremendous songs together.  

Tucker Carroll plays a mean guitar, but what guitar does he love most?  What’s his absolute favorite? I can’t tell you that. No, really, I can’t.  He asked me not to for reasons that I can’t tell you either. I know, the secrets are awful, aren’t they?  So, I’ll tell you his second favorite and he loves it a lot, so pretend I never said what I said before this.  He adores his PRS Silver Sky John Mayer Signature model. “It’s everything I could ever want in an electric. I know all its little quirks.  I feel like I’ve been everywhere with it and people identify me with it. If I don’t have it, people will wonder where it is. I’ve bought a lot of my guitars with my own money, but this one my parents bought me, so it’s special.  So, go mom and dad.”

If money were no object, what guitar would Carroll go out and buy right this very minute?  “Probably a 1963 or 1964 Fender Strat.” He answered that with a quickness. He’s a big fan of those guitars from that era.

I said earlier that Carroll is a self-professed introvert.  How does he handle himself on stage these days? He’s playing to much larger audiences much of the time.  Do nerves get the best of him? “As a guitar player, no. I only get worried if I can’t get in the right headspace, or if I feel like I can’t play to my best ability.  If my sound is right, I’m good.”

What about groupies?  Let’s face it, he’s a young, good looking guy.  How does he handle that? He smiled, then laughed a little.  “I keep everything light-hearted and professional.” He’s also brilliant at delivering a professional answer ladies.

Biggest pet peeve while playing a live show?  “Not having my guitar tone right. Having to fiddle with that on stage.  Like, I’m constantly thinking about it and it’s a distraction.”  

What does he love most about playing live?  “Those rare moments when you’re playing live and things happen, like you’re playing at the top of your game and suddenly, you’re playing even higher than the top of your game.  You almost don’t even realize they’re happening until afterwards. It’s like a moment of clarity that you missed. You don’t realize until it’s too late, that’s what I’m trying to say.  You remember it, but you have to stop and think back about how great it was, and what you were doing.” I want everyone to remember what Carroll said about Stevie Ray Vaughn, then re-read his answer here.  If only Stevie Ray Vaughn was still with us. If only.

Photo courtesy of Ultimate Guitar

Since Tucker Carroll is actually from Bradford, Tennessee, with Memphis as the closest major city, and one that Carroll is quite familiar with, I was curious about something that I knew he could answer.  Memphis and Nashville. How “far apart” are they really? I thought his answer was interesting. “Nashville is the mecca for country music. Memphis is known for the blues. They’re both music cities, but I see Nashville as more of a cultural melting pot.  It’s more than just country music here. I see people moving to Nashville to pursue music. I don’t see a lot of people moving to Memphis to pursue music. Some are, but not like here. I played on Beale Street in Memphis and it’s cool, there are great musicians there, but it seems more limited.  I played with some good people in Memphis, one guy, Timothy James, keep your eye on that one in the next couple of years. He’s really talented, but Nashville has so much more going on, more opportunity, but a much larger talent pool too.”   

Photo courtesy of mybeautifuladventures.com

If Carroll has a rare day off, what does he do with it?  He tries to make the drive back to West Tennessee to spend the day with his family.  He makes an effort to get back there every few weeks if possible, as family is very important to him.

Christmas is coming.  Suppose you want to get Tucker Carroll a stocking stuffer and you have no idea what to get.  What gift card can you purchase that you can be sure won’t go to waste? “I’m forever on the run,” he said, “so, Subway, Starbucks, Zaxby’s…” 

How about a song that he’s been really itching to learn but hasn’t had the time yet?  “Cliffs of Dover” by Eric Johnson.

Video courtesy of Eric Johnson and YouTube

On the contrary, a song that he’d be happy to never play again for the rest of his life?  “I might get shot for this, but it would have to be ‘Rocky Top’ or maybe ‘Wagon Wheel’, those two.”

In Carroll’s opinion, one of the hardest songs to play on the guitar?  He told me it was “Cliffs of Dover” even though he hasn’t yet mastered it.  I asked why it was so difficult. “Weird chords, stretching your fingers across the fretboard, just all the different transitions.”

If Tucker Carroll were to give a guitarist thinking about making the big move to Nashville advice, what would it be?  “Be different. Find what makes you, you. Be alone for awhile.  Spend time by yourself. Be able to be independent.  Be on top of your game at all times because there are thousands of people in Nashville that are better than you are. Be able to take advice and handle constructive criticism.  When people talk to you, listen.

There’s always well-meaning folks handing out advice where it isn’t necessarily welcome.  What’s a piece of advice that Carroll didn’t agree with? “Back in May, before I moved to Nashville, an old man asked me what I was going to do.  I wasn’t sure. He told me I had ‘to get real with myself’ and go to school and get a job and get a good life. Well, I didn’t take his advice, I’m working, I’m doing what I love and I’m having the most fun of my life.”

Finally, when Tucker Carroll “Thinks Country”, what does he think?  “You always hear three chords and the truth, right? I think of the stories that are in country music.  I think of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and all of those great storytellers of the past.  That’s what I grew up listening to. That’s what country music is to me.”

Video courtesy of MsGlenBill1 and YouTube

So, to sum up our little road trip from Memphis to Nashville, there were a whole lot of musical greats that hailed from Memphis.  There were a decent handful from Jackson. Bradford? As of this writing, there haven’t been any updates yet to the list of notable people from that tiny dot on the map, but there’s this guy who plays a little guitar, I heard he just moved to Nashville…

Photo courtesy of 90 East Photography and Tucker Carroll

Tucker Carroll can be found:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuckercarrollmusic/