Al Tuck

{{Short description|Canadian musician (born 1966)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Al Tuck | image = Al_Tuck.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Alan Layton Tuck | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|12|21}} | birth_place = Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada | origin = Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | death_date =  | death_place = | genre = Folk rock, indie rock | occupation = Singer-songwriter | instrument = Vocals, guitar | years_active = 1984{{dash}}present | label = Murderecords, Brobdingnagian, Youth Club | associated_acts = Al Tuck and No Action<br />Catherine MacLellan<br />The Columbia Recording Artists<br />The Bluegrass Lawnmower | website = {{URL|altuck.com}} }}

'''Al Tuck''' (born December 23, 1966), is a Canadian songwriter and folksinger from Prince Edward Island who has spent much of his career based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.<ref>Dickie, Mary (January 15, 2004). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20160310070920/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/T/Tuck_Al/2004/01/15/751446.html The luck of Tuck: Singer/songwriter sees bright side of losing all his material in a fire]", Jam!. Retrieved November 2, 2010.</ref>

==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.

==Career== Tuck's career started when he began appearing in Halifax coffeehouses and college pubs, either doing solo performances or with his first couple of bands, such as The Columbia Recording Artists, in the early-to-mid 80s, and then The Bluegrass Lawnmower, which existed from 1988 until 1992.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sve.canadiana.ca/view/carl.NSHD_19910131/2 | title=The Dalhousie gazette. : Vol. 123, no. 16 (Janu... – the Student Voice }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.last.fm/music/Al+Tuck/+wiki | title=Al Tuck age, hometown, biography }}</ref> Bluegrass Lawnmower received an East Coast Music Award nomination for "Unrecorded Artist Of The Year" in 1991.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ecma.com/awards/archive/1991 | title=Awards Archive – East Coast Music Association }}</ref>

Tucked formed the quartet of Al Tuck and No Action in 1993, with a "revolving cast of musicians",<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web | url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/90s/1996/RPM-1996-02-12.pdf | title=What's a Duck Worth | website=www.worldradiohistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://sve.canadiana.ca/view/carl.NSHD_19931007/7 | title=The Dalhousie gazette. : Vol. 126, no. 6 (Octob... – the Student Voice }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/blues-theory-961758 | title=Blues Theory }}</ref> after the dissolution of Bluegrass Lawnmower, and with increased attention on the burgeoning Halifax independent music scene in the early 1990s.

By 1994, the band dropped down to a trio, with Tracy Stevens on bass, and Brock Caldwell on drums.<ref name="auto1"/> This led Tuck to a recording deal with Sloan's Murderecords,<ref>Guimond, Steve (December 22, 2005). "[http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=8012 No, not Al Green] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211060412/http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=8012 |date=2006-02-11 }}", ''Hour''. Retrieved November 2, 2010.</ref> which released his first two LPs: ''Arhoolie'',<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://altuckmusic.bandcamp.com/album/arhoolie | title=Arhoolie, by al Tuck and No Action }}</ref> and ''Brave Last Days'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://altuckmusic.bandcamp.com/album/brave-last-days | title=Brave Last Days, by al Tuck and No Action }}</ref> both in 1994. That same year he made an appearance at Edgefest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/RaveDrool/posts/pfbid0hV2t6RvGk3XhYfDoY2xYDx3zKdW7VFnoC6bE9XMYa14uvTDfT1ELZg9hthAFKLgUl?__tn__=,O*F|title=Facebook|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> He also appeared on a festival bill with Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario, playing on the CFNY-FM 'Nu Music Sidestage' alongside treble charger, The Killjoys and other acts.<ref>"[https://manson.wiki/1994/08/06_Barrie,_Canada 1994/08/06 Barrie, Canada]", ''Manson.Wiki''. Retrieved August 13, 2024.</ref>

During his tenure on Murderecords, a "documentary" short film was shot and produced by Colin MacKenzie (Murderecords, Cinnamon Toast Records) on Tuck, in 1995.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://vimeo.com/528333580 | title=Al Tuck and No Action Documentary 1995 | date=March 24, 2021 }}</ref>

Tuck received another East Coast Music Award nomination for "Male Recording of the Year" in 1996.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ecma.com/awards/archive/1996 | title=Awards Archive – East Coast Music Association }}</ref>

Tuck released ''Food for the Moon'' in 2009.<ref name=Khanna /> In a review, ''Now'' magazine wrote, "Tuck's voice – thin, rough-hewn, distinct – reaches out intimately, and his songwriting never drops beneath top-shelf."<ref>Gillis, Carla (March 17, 2010). "[http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=174106 Al Tuck: Food for the Moon]", ''Now'' '''29''' (29). Retrieved November 2, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121021205215/http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=174106 Archived] October 21, 2012</ref>

In 2010, Tuck was the voice of Milkman Cat in the Spike Jonze-produced animated short, ''Higglety-Pigglety Pop!''.<ref>Titley, Hillary (January 21, 2010). "[http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/al-tuck-goes-pop/Content?oid=1481389 Al Tuck goes Pop!]", ''The Coast''. Retrieved November 2, 2010.</ref>

"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.<ref>[http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm?intChartTypeID=101&dWeekOfID=2012-01-03 "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 3, 2012"]. ''!earshot''.</ref>

In June 2013, Tuck's studio album ''Stranger at the Wake'' was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize. ''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, ''Behind That Big Red Curtain'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://altuckmusic.bandcamp.com/album/behind-that-big-red-curtain | title=Behind That Big Red Curtain, by Various }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/al-tuck-tribute-cd-1.3964256 | title='It's a very moving thing:' Al Tuck reacts to tribute CD | website=www.cbc.ca | date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

==Personal life== Tuck previously dated Catriona Sturton, then of Plumtree, during the late 1990s, into the 2000s.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/joel-plaskett-shows-his-true-patriot-love-through-music/article29315409/ | title=Joel Plaskett demonstrates his true patriot love through music | newspaper=The Globe and Mail | date=March 21, 2016 }}</ref>

Tuck was formerly married (and divorced in 2010) to singer Catherine MacLellan,<ref name=Khanna>Khanna, Vish (August 2009). "[http://exclaim.ca/Interviews/WebExclusive/al_tuck/ Al Tuck]", ''Exclaim!''. Retrieved November 2, 2010.</ref> daughter of renowned P.E.I. songwriter Gene MacLellan. They have one daughter, Isabel.<ref>Doole, Kerry (June 2009). "[http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/FolkAndCountry/al_tuck-food_for_moon/ Al Tuck: Food for the Moon]", ''Exclaim!''. Retrieved November 2, 2010.</ref>

== Discography == ===Albums=== * ''Arhoolie'' (1994)<ref name="auto"/> * ''Brave Last Days'' (1994) *''The New High Road of Song'' (2001) *''Live at the Rebecca Cohn'' (2002) *''My Blues Away'' (2005) *''33 1/3'' (2005) * ''Food for the Moon'' (2009) *''All Time Favourites'' (2010 compilation) *''Under Your Shadow'' (2011) *''Stranger at the Wake'' (2013) *''Fair Country '' (2015) *''Days of the Looking Glass (Al Tuck Sings Gene MacLellan)'' (2019) *''Water, Blood & Whiskey'' (2023)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://altuckmusic.bandcamp.com/album/water-blood-whiskey | title=Water, Blood & Whiskey, by al Tuck }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/28819486-Al-Tuck-Water-Blood-Whiskey|title=Al Tuck – Water, Blood & Whiskey|website=Discogs |date=October 31, 2023 }}</ref>

===Compilations=== * "Bone Of Contention" (live) – ''Cod Can't Hear – The Halifax Independent Music Festival'' (1992) (with Bluegrass Lawnmower)

* "Use Your Imagination" – ''Hear & Now ’92: The Best of the East Coast's Independent Bands'' (1992) (with Bluegrass Lawnmower)

* "25-12 Blues" – ''A Four Track Christmas'' (Cinnamon Toast Records, 1994)

* "Sleepyhead (Al's Lullaby)" – ''I'm Going Crazy in This Town'' (1996)

* "In The Days Where People Were Small And Few" – ''Sixty Second Songs'' (2002)

*"The Sky Is Too Blue" – ''Here Comes The Gold'' (2016)

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.altuck.com}} * [https://altuckmusic.bandcamp.com Al Tuck] – Official Bandcamp to purchase Digital copies of Al Tuck's work.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuck, Al}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Category:Canadian folk singer-songwriters Category:Canadian country singer-songwriters Category:Canadian male singer-songwriters Category:Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Category:Murderecords artists Category:Singers from Prince Edward Island Category:University of King's College alumni Category:Singers from Nova Scotia