Benjamin Tucker
Noted jazz musician Benjamin Mayor Tucker was born on December 13, 1930 in Brentwood, Tennessee. Tucker and his twin brother grew up in Nashville with their parents Carrie Clayborne and Joseph Tucker. He graduated from Pearl High School in 1946 and matriculated at Tennessee State University in 1949 as a music major. In 1950, he joined the United States Air Force, serving for four years.
Tucker’s love for music began at an early age. He taught himself to play the tuba at the age of thirteen and later the bass violin and piano. Some of his favorite jazz musicians included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. In 1956, Tucker moved to Hollywood, California, where he met Warren Marsh. His first recording was a collaboration with Marsh entitled Jazz of Two Cities in 1959. That same year, Metronome magazine named him one of the world’s top ten bass players. In 1961, he recorded Coming Home Baby, a hit for Herbie Mann and Mel Torme. This song was featured in the film Get Shorty.
Tucker became Savannah, Georgia’s first African American radio station owner in 1972 when he purchased WSOK Radio. WSOK was the top AM station for thirteen years. His station had over 400,000 listeners and a reputation of integrity in advertising. In 1989, Tucker opened Hard Hearted Hannah’s, a jazz club. He was not only the owner of the club, but he also led the band six nights a week.
Tucker served on the boards of several organizations. President Jimmy Carter appointed him to serve on the Selective Service Board, and President Ronald Reagan reappointed him. Tucker for the 1996 Olympic Committee in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also the creator of the Telfair Jazz Society in Savannah.
Tucker and his wife, Gloria, resided in Savannah, Georgia. They had two adult children, Sabra and Wayne.
Tucker was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 23, 2007.
Benjamin Tucker passed away on June 4, 2013.
A2007.026
Male
1/23/2007
Tucker
Tennessee State University
Martin Luther King Jr Magnet High School
Benjamin
Brentwood
TUC05
Spring
Savannah Chapter of the Links, Inc
Tennessee
Barbados, Grenada, Antigua
I Love You.

Georgia
12/13/1930
Savannah
United States
Ox Tails, Filet Mignon
6/4/2013
Radio entrepreneur and jazz bassist Benjamin Tucker (1930 - 2013 ) was Savannah, Georgia's first African American radio station owner.
Tuckrow Productions, Inc.
WSOK Radio
WLVH Radio
Hard Hearted Hannah's

Lavender, Purple
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Benjamin Tucker's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his paternal grandfather
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his paternal grandmother
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his maternal grandparents
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker recalls lessons from his maternal grandfather
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his father's gardening skills
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his relationship with his father
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker describes his mother
Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his home in Brentwood, Tennessee
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his mother's resourcefulness
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker describes his brothers
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his neighbors in Brentwood, Tennessee
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker remembers Brentwood Elementary School in Brentwood, Tennessee
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker describes his earliest childhood memories
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his childhood activities
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker remembers Pearl High School in Nashville, Tennessee
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker recalls serving in the U.S. Air Force
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his experience of racial discrimination on a bus ride
Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Benjamin Tucker recalls discovering the jazz community in Los Angeles, California
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his bass violin training
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker recalls purchasing his Tyrolean bass violin
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his introduction to New York City's jazz community
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker recalls playing with Marian McPartland at the Hickory House in New York City
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his early recordings on the West Coast
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker remembers recording 'Comin' Home Baby'
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker recalls the impact of the record, 'Comin' Home Baby'
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker remembers helping Bobby Hebb record 'Sunny'
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker recalls selling his publishing rights to 'Sunny'
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Benjamin Tucker remembers founding Tuckrow Productions, Inc.
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker remembers creating educational songs
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his venture into the radio broadcast industry
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker recalls purchasing WSOK Radio in Savannah, Georgia
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his initial challenges at WSOK Radio
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker describes his programming at WSOK Radio
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker remembers his community engagement at WSOK Radio
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker recalls buying WLVH Radio in Hardeeville, South Carolina
Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker recalls building a new broadcast tower for WLVH Radio
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his return to musicianship
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker talks about his committee and board service
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker recalls musicians with whom he played in Savannah, Georgia
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker recalls Hard Hearted Hannah's jazz club in Savannah, Georgia
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker talks about the challenges of owning a restaurant
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker describes his commitment to Savannah's African American community
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his social activism in Savannah, Georgia, pt. 1
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker recalls his social activism in Savannah, Georgia, pt. 2
Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker recalls playing music at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia
Tape: 5 Story: 10 - Benjamin Tucker talks about his albums, 'Savannah Presents Jazz' and 'Christmas in Savannah'
Tape: 5 Story: 11 - Benjamin Tucker talks about his diabetes advocacy
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Benjamin Tucker recalls playing with renowned jazz musicians
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Benjamin Tucker remembers touring with Peggy Lee
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Benjamin Tucker remembers repairing his antique bass violin
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Benjamin Tucker talks about musicians with whom he would like to play
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Benjamin Tucker describes the changes in Brentwood, Tennessee
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Benjamin Tucker talks about his family members
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Benjamin Tucker reflects upon his life
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Benjamin Tucker describes how he would like to be remembered
Tape: 6 Story: 9 - Benjamin Tucker narrates his photographs
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