Today is the birthday of the one-and-only Derek Trucks. Having appeared twice on Rolling Stone‘s list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”, received multiple Grammy Awards, and accepted a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award with The Allman Brothers Band, there’s not much the guitarist/songwriter hasn’t accomplished.
Watch Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes Perform At The White House
Even before the age of 12, Trucks formed his first band The Derek Trucks Band and played with musical legends like Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills. In 1999, he became a formal member of The Allman Brothers Band before the legendary Southern rock band dissolved in 2014, leading Trucks to join forces with his wife for the ever-immaculate Tedeschi Trucks Band. He’s played for President Barack Obama at The White House and collaborated with everyone from Eric Clapton to Jimmy Herring to Herbie Hancock. Even B.B. King once commented that Trucks’ playing was “as good as [he’s] ever heard it,” while playing alongside John Mayer at the Hollywood Bowl.
With a tone that is unmistakable, unreplicable, and irreplaceably spirited, his guitar playing encompasses the worldly sounds of Southern rock, jazz, and is most deeply rooted in old blues. Check out some compilation videos that display Derek’s wide range of influences.
Top 5 Derek Trucks Solos
[Video: Calidore Robinson]
Derek Trucks Guitar Solo Clip Compilation
[Video: JME Williams]
Happy Birthday, Derek!
[Originally published 6/8/17]