Al Tuck (born December 23, 1966), is a Canadian songwriter and folksinger from
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
who has spent much of his career based in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
.
Early life
Tuck was born in
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, the son of editorial cartoonist and Anglican cleric Canon Robert Tuck. Tuck attended the
University of King's College in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and began appearing in Halifax coffeehouses and college pubs, either as a solo performer or with his first couple of bands, namely The Columbia Recording Artists and The Bluegrass Lawnmower.
Career
Tuck's formation of the punningly named trio Al Tuck and No Action coincided with increased attention on the burgeoning Halifax independent music scene in the early 1990s. This led Tuck to a recording deal with
Murderecords, the boutique music label managed by Halifax pop act
Sloan, as well as a nomination for an
East Coast Music Award and an appearance at
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
.
Tuck's song "Buddah" is featured on the soundtrack of the
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
-themed documentary ''Complete Unknown''.
Tuck released ''Food for the Moon'' in 2009.
In a review,
''Now'' magazine wrote, "Tuck's voice – thin, rough-hewn, distinct – reaches out intimately, and his songwriting never drops beneath top-shelf."
In 2010, Tuck was the voice of Milkman Cat in the
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
-produced animated short, ''Higglety-Pigglety Pop!''.
"Under Your Shadow" followed in 2011 under the Maple Music label. The album appeared on the !earshot Campus and Community National Top 50 Albums chart in January 2012.
In June 2013, Tuck's studio album ''Stranger at the Wake'' was longlisted for the
. ''Fair Country'', which is a mix of original songs, co-written with poet Alex Rettie, and covers, was released digitally in 2015 and then in CD format in 2016.
December 2016 saw release of a tribute album, featuring 15 of Tuck's songs, performed by 15 of his musical friends, and produced by Adam Gallant and Andrew Murray of Charlottetown, PEI. Two of these songs, "In the Days When the People Were Small and Few" and "Behind that Big Red Curtain", were not previously recorded by Tuck.
Personal life
Tuck was formerly married (and divorced in 2010) to singer
Catherine MacLellan
Catherine MacLellan is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, based in Prince Edward Island.
Early life
The daughter of Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan, MacLellan was born in Burlington, Ontario but raised in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
...
,
[Khanna, Vish (August 2009).]
Al Tuck
, ''Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
''. Retrieved November 2, 2010. daughter of renowned P.E.I. songwriter
Gene MacLellan. They have one daughter, Isabel.
[Doole, Kerry (June 2009).]
Al Tuck: Food for the Moon
, ''Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
''. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
Discography
* ''Arhoolie'' (1994)
* ''Brave Last Days'' (1994)
*''The New High Road of Song'' (2001)
*''Live at the Rebecca Cohn'' (2002)
*''My Blues Away'' (2005)
* ''Food for the Moon'' (2009)
*''All Time Favourites'' (2010 compilation)
*''Under Your Shadow'' (2011)
*''Stranger at the Wake'' (2013)
*''Fair Country '' (2016)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuck, Al
1966 births
Living people
People from Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Canadian folk singer-songwriters
Canadian country singer-songwriters
Canadian male singer-songwriters
Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Murderecords artists
Musicians from Prince Edward Island
University of King's College alumni