Doug Gray
{{Short description|American musician}}
{{other people|Douglas Gray}}
{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Doug Gray
| image = Doug Gray.jpg
| caption = Gray in 2014
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1948|05|22}}
| birth_place = Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| instrument = Vocals, keyboards, tambourine
| genre = Progressive country, Southern Rock, Country Rock
| occupation = Singer, songwriter
| years_active = 1960s–present
| label =
| associated_acts = The Marshall Tucker Band
| website =
}}
Douglas Gray (born May 22, 1948) is an American singer, who is a founding member and lead vocalist of The Marshall Tucker Band.{{cite news |last=Tennis |first=Joe |date=2018-04-22 |title=Leader of The Marshall Tucker Band says he's not in the market for 'A New Life' |url=https://www.heraldcourier.com/lifestyles/leader-of-the-marshall-tucker-band-says-he-s-not/article_3e44492c-4641-11e8-b001-a31af8a0d287.html |work=Bristol Herald Courier |location=Bristol Virginia |access-date=2019-07-19 }}{{cite news |last=Tennis |first=Joe |date=2018-05-17 |title=Doug Gray: Marshall Tucker Band's last original band member |url=https://www.heraldcourier.com/lifestyles/doug-gray-marshall-tucker-band-s-last-original-band-member/article_303413f2-3b30-11e7-a3fd-4f673a680724.html |work=Bristol Herald Courier |location=Bristol Virginia |access-date=2019-07-19 }}
Biography
Doug Gray was born on May 22, 1948, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. While high school mates, Gray and bassist, Tommy Caldwell joined a band called The New Generation. The band consisted of: Gray on vocals; Tommy Caldwell on bass; Randy Foster on rhythm guitar; Keith Wood on lead guitar; Dan Powell on organ; and Ross Hanna on drums. In 1968, they co-wrote a single, "Because of Love (It's All Over)" and released on a 45rpm record.https://www.popsike.com/NEW-GENERATIONEarly-Marshall-Tucker-BandBecause-Of-LoveThats-The-Sun7-68/161084722631.html After high school, The New Generation merged with another local band, The Rants, which included: guitarist, Toy Caldwell (brother of Tommy); saxophonist, keyboardist and flutist, Jerry Eubanks; and drummer, Ross Hanna (1951-2019),{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/spartanburg/obituary.aspx?n=ross-carlisle-hanna&pid=192871961|title = Ross Carlisle Hanna Obituary (2019) Spartanburg Herald-Journal|website = Legacy.com}} to form a new band called the Toy Factory.{{Cite web|url=http://swampland.com/articles/view/title:the_legends_of_southern_rock_photo_scrapbook_part_two|title = Swampland:The Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook, Part Two}} As the Vietnam War dragged on, many of the members joined various military branches with Gray joining the Army and serving in the Vietnam War.{{cite web |first=Michael B. |last=Smith |url=http://www.tuckerhead.com/toy_bio.htm |title=Toy Caldwell's Carolina Dreams |publisher=Tuckerhead.com. |accessdate=9 June 2009 |archive-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311175841/http://tuckerhead.com/toy_bio.htm |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/marshall-tucker-band-doug-gray-vietnam-war-veteran|title=Marshall Tucker Band's Doug Gray recalls woman giving him her plane seat during return home from Vietnam war|last=Young|first=Julius|website=Fox News|accessdate=11 November 2019|date=11 November 2019}}
After his duty in the military, Gray rejoined the Caldwell brothers and Eubanks of the Toy Factory. They recruited guitarist, George McCorkle along with drummer, Paul Riddle. By 1972, they changed their everlasting band name to The Marshall Tucker Band (name of man who was hometown piano tuner in the cotton-mill city of Spartanburg). Gray remained with the band for its entire career and he is the only original member who still performs with the band today.{{cite web|url=https://theboot.com/marshall-tucker-band-doug-gray-2019-interview/|title=Doug Gray Interview: Marshall Tucker Band Leader Finds Musical Kinship Everywhere — Even on 'American Idol'|publisher=The Boot|accessdate = 11 November 2019|year=2019}}
Gray sang lead on most of the band's songs. There are several exceptions to this in the band's catalogue, including "Can't You See," "Every Day I Have The Blues", and "This Ol' Cowboy", which all featured founder and guitarist Toy Caldwell as the lead singer. In addition to singing, Gray also sometimes plays tambourine and in the band's early days he played keyboards.
References
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Category:American male singers
Category:American rock singers
Category:Musicians from Spartanburg, South Carolina
Category:American tambourine players
Category:The Marshall Tucker Band members
Category:United States Army soldiers
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