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. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

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. Th ...

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 The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

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 Murderecords is an independent record label that releases the music of the Canadian rock band Sloan. Originally formed in 1992 to produce just the records of that band, it later released work of other bands including Eric's Trip, The Hardship ...

, the boutique music label managed by Halifax pop act Sloan, as well as a nomination for an

East Coast Music Award The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

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

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

. ''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
, ''

''. 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