Thomas Michael Caldwell (November 9, 1949 – April 28, 1980) was the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

for

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...

between 1973 and 1980. Caldwell composed several of their songs and played bass, percussion, guitar, as well as contributing backup vocals, though he sang lead on "Melody Ann" the only song on which he performed lead vocals. His last performance with the band was on April 18, 1980, ten days before his fatal accident. The performance is captured on the 2006 release, ''

Live on Long Island ''Live on Long Island 04-18-80'' is a 2-CD set recorded by The Marshall Tucker Band at Nassau Coliseum and is the final recording of bassist and founding member Tommy Caldwell (musician), Tommy Caldwell, occurring just ten days before his death i ...

''. Caldwell was known for playing a white 1970s

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...

with a Dimarzio Split Coil Pickup. A mix of finger style and picked bass as well as his use of tube amplifiers contributed to Caldwell's signature sound. A native of

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, he died at the age of 30 from injuries suffered when his Land Cruiser clipped a parked 1965 Ford Galaxie on April 28, 1980.

The Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The Dev ...

's 1980 album ''

Full Moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...

'' is dedicated to Caldwell.

Personal life

He was the younger

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of bandmate and band co-founder,

Toy Caldwell Toy Talmadge Caldwell Jr. (November 13, 1947 – February 25, 1993) was the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band.

. Another brother, Tim Caldwell, also died in a traffic accident one month before Tommy, on March 28, 1980, at age 25.Tim Caldwell gravestone photo
slobotabouttown.com (retrieved 23 January 2015).

References

External links

* 1949 births 1980 deaths American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American Southern Rock musicians Road incident deaths in South Carolina 20th-century American bass guitarists The Marshall Tucker Band members 20th-century American male musicians {{US-bass-guitarist-stub