Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Derek Trucks took up the guitar at age 9, and it was quickly apparent that he was a child prodigy. He was playing with a band and touring within two years. His early repertoire was heavily blues-based, obviously inspired by The Allman Brothers Band, of which his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks, is a founding member. Older bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf, jazz musicians Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Charlie Christian and later Wayne Shorter and many others, became an influence for Trucks a few years later. Eastern Music, mainly Indian Classical, also affected Trucks's musical development, primarily his slide guitar playing, which is often compared to that of Duane Allman but is also heavily influenced by sarod players like Ali Akbar Khan. In 2003, he was the youngest guitarist on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time, and has been hailed as one of the greatest slide guitarists since Duane Allman.
Trucks formed his first band at age 12, and played his first gigs with them as "Derek and the Dominators". Later, Atlanta's jazz and blues bassist Todd Smallie joined Trucks in 1994, and became the first member of what is now the current version of The Derek Trucks Band. When Trucks really set about assembling a lasting band, he was by his reckoning about 14 years old. Smallie, on bass, was the first to join him. As a result, Trucks feels that he's "kind of grown up with him." A year later in 1995, drummer Yonrico Scott completed the band's early rhythm section. The band released its self-titled debut album, The Derek Trucks Band, in 1997, and followed with Out of the Madness in 1999. Scott has been playing with Trucks for over 16 years as of 2008. According to Derek Trucks: "We've developed a kind of 'musical ESP'.. it's nice to have somebody that you don't have to look at...he's just right there with you."
Kofi Burbridge joined the band shortly thereafter, contributing to the band's sound as a multi-instrumentalist, with his versatility on keyboards, flute, and vocals. Like his brother, whom Trucks plays with in the Allman Brothers Band, bassist Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge's education was primarily rooted in classical and jazz music. In an interview upon the release of their 2002 album, Joyful Noise, Trucks laughingly commented, "Kofi Burbridge has been with us maybe 2-3 years, and he's one of the few musical geniuses that I've had the chance to work with, he's totally insane"... continuing, "I'm really anxious to see in the next few years to see where he takes this, because he's definitely a huge part of what's going on right now."
In 2002 the band's producers, Craig Street and John Snyder recommended singer Mike Mattison to the band. Mattison performed several shows with the band, and Trucks decided Mattison's soulful voice and calm stage presence completed the band's identity. Trucks said of Mattison, "He's got a huge range, so that helps us out a lot when we stretch into some of the different material we cover. It's like having three different vocalists onstage at times. It's a tough piece of the puzzle to find, you know -- a good singer who fits with what you're doing -- so we were very fortunate to hook up with Mike." Mattison had a previous band as well-- a vocal duo, called Scrapomatic, with Paul Olsen, a guitarist and vocalist, whom he still performs with at occasional gigs, including some opening sets for The Derek Trucks Band. The band's final member, Count M'Butu is the only band member that does not appear on every tour. M'Butu, the group's eldest member, plays a variety of African drums. Trucks mentions casually that he had known M'Butu for many years before he joined the Derek Trucks Band, as M'Butu was a regular musical fixture in Atlanta; one of the bastions of the Allman Brothers fan bases.
Trucks' guitar playing is unusual in a number of respects. He steadfastly avoids processing and effects, preferring to get the purest tone possible by connecting his guitar directly to his amplifier, a 1964 Fender Super Reverb. He modifies his tone with the controls on the guitar. He plays without the use of a plectrum (pick), using his fingers instead, plucking primarily with the thumb, index and middle fingers, but also using the ring finger on occasion. He developed his technique himself. His guitar is always tuned to 'Open E'. From the low to high string, (i.e., EBEG#Be) he slightly detunes his low E string (a technique he and Jimmy Herring developed while playing together). Open E is a normal tuning for slide players, as it allows them to form chords more easily, but over the years he has become a highly acclaimed straight lead player without switching to standard tuning (EADGBe).
In 2001, Trucks married singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. The couple have two children: Charles Kahlil Trucks (born March 8, 2002), and Sophia Naima Trucks (born August 9, 2004). Charles is named for saxophonist Charlie Parker and guitarist Charlie Christian; his middle name is taken from author Khalil Gibran. The name Sophia has mystic overtones (meaning "Wisdom" in Greek), and the unusual middle name comes from the John Coltrane ballad, which Coltrane named after his first wife, Naima.
In 1999, Derek Trucks joined his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks, as a member of The Allman Brothers Band, while continuing to lead his own band. With the Allman Brothers Band he has performed on 2000's Peakin' at the Beacon, 2003's Hittin' the Note, 2003's live DVD At the Beacon Theatre, and 2004's One Way Out.
As of early 2006, Trucks is an accompanying guitarist in Eric Clapton's 2006-2007 touring band. In early 2006, Trucks lost equipment, as an equipment trailer was stolen. Some of the gear was recovered on May 18, 2006, as reported in the Columbia Records Derek Trucks Forum. Gear that was reported as recovered from a field outside Atlanta, GA includes Derek's "1965 BFSR, the amp he's been playing since he was a young boy; Derek's 1968 SFSR (one of the backup amps),the DTB's Hammond B-3, two Leslies, a Hohner E-7 Clavinet, and a few other minor items."
Death Letter
The Derek Trucks Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Said hurry hurry gal you love is dead
Got a letter this morning how do you reckon read
It said "hurry hurry the gal you love is dead"
Well, grabbed up my suitcase took off down the road
When I go there she was laying on the cooling board
Grabbed my suitcase and I took off down the road
Well, walked up real close I looked down in her face
That good old gal gonna lay here till judgment day
walked real close, looking down in her face
Well she's a good ol' gal, gonna lay here till judgment day
Ohh hush, thought I heard her call my name
It wasn't so loud, so nice and plain
Mmm mmm hhmmm
Well, wasn't so loud, whoah so nice and plain
I ain't love but four women in my life
My mother and my sister, dead gal and my wife
Only loved four women in my life
Well my mother and my sister, dead gal and my wife
Look like ten thousand standing around the burial ground
Didn't know I loved her till they laid her down
Ten thousand standing around the burial ground
Well I didn't know I loved her till they began to lay her down
Laid her down
The Derek Trucks Band’s song Death Letter tells the story of a man who receives a letter informing him of the death of the woman he loves. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but also deeply emotional. The use of repetition in the opening lines emphasizes the shock and urgency of the message: “Got a letter this morning, how you reckon it read? / Said hurry, hurry, gal, your love is dead.”
The man immediately sets out to see his love one last time, grabbing his suitcase and hitting the road. When he arrives, he finds her lying on a “cooling board” – a reference to the traditional practice of laying out a corpse for viewing before burial. The imagery here is vivid, but also hauntingly beautiful. The man is overcome with grief as he looks down at his beloved’s face and realizes that she will be “a good ol' gal, gonna lay here till judgment day.”
The final lines of the song reveal the man’s true feelings for the woman he loved. As he stands at her burial, surrounded by thousands of mourners, he realizes that he never knew how much he loved her until she was gone. The song is a powerful meditation on love, loss, and the fragility of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a letter this morning how you reckon it read
Received a letter this morning, wondering how its contents might say
Said hurry hurry gal you love is dead
Stated that the beloved woman has passed away, urging to rush towards her
Got a letter this morning how do you reckon read
Received a letter this morning, speculated about its wording
It said "hurry hurry the gal you love is dead"
It explicitly spelled out that the woman of affection is deceased, insisting to hurry
Well, grabbed up my suitcase took off down the road
Picked up the luggage and quickly went away
When I go there she was laying on the cooling board
When he arrived there, she was lying on a board used to hold dead bodies
Grabbed my suitcase and I took off down the road
Picked up the luggage and rapidly departed
Well when I got there she was laying on the cooling board
He found her on the board used to keep dead bodies
Well, walked up real close I looked down in her face
Went near and gazed at her face from a close distance
That good old gal gonna lay here till judgment day
That good woman will remain there until the day of judgement
walked real close, looking down in her face
Approached nearby and gazed downwards towards her face
Well she's a good ol' gal, gonna lay here till judgment day
She is a good woman who will stay there till the day of judgement
Ohh hush, thought I heard her call my name
Quiet! He thought he heard her voice calling his name
It wasn't so loud, so nice and plain
It was not very loud, but clear and melodious
Mmm mmm hhmmm
Humming sound indicating the contemplation of past times
Only loved four women in my life
There were only four women he ever loved in his life
Well my mother and my sister, dead gal and my wife
The women he loved were his mother, sister, departed female and current wife
Look like ten thousand standing around the burial ground
It appeared as if ten thousand people were present near the grave site
Didn't know I loved her till they laid her down
He didn't realise that he loved her until they put her body down
Ten thousand standing around the burial ground
There were many people gathered around the burial site
Well I didn't know I loved her till they began to lay her down
He was not aware of his love for her until they started to put her in the ground
Laid her down
They put her body to rest
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dianne Russell
This is one of my favourite songs from the great Son. You all did it justice. Thank you. ❤️ Son would be proud. ⭐️😇🇦🇺
Joseph Ciresi
This Is So BADASS.. Derek and Warren Doing Sun House Proud !
Tom The Plummer
We all go…as my Mother told me as my Pops passed. Just some of us know where we’re goin🙏👋🏻🤲🙌🏻✌️
Marcelo Melgaço Costa
Warren Haynes. WOW!!!
buggadugg
Way to much Tedeschi going on and wish for this much more.
NoGimmicks144
hairs raising on my arms . sweet as honey
Tracy Hutchings
Sweet
Fabricio Sousa Luthier
+Barbara Melo A música é do Son House.
Rick Pettit
now thats !!! phat!!!!
Xi Chen
should get way more views than 500... this number is just bullshit...