Derek Trucks Talks New Tedeschi Trucks Band Albums, Formative Years

For guitarist Derek Trucks, learning the six-string came largely on the job, at gigs, and on stage. Such is the story for many musicians. But in Trucks’ case, his life’s work began when he was nine years old. It led quickly to sharing bills with all-timers like Buddy Guy and Bob Dylan.

Trucks, who was born in Jacksonville, Florida, says he can’t remember a time without music. Records constantly played. His parents took him to festivals to see artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles. It helped that his uncle, Butch Trucks, was a founding member and drummer of The Allman Brothers Band, a group his nephew later joined formally.

Trucks says his father, who was an atheist, treated music as if it was a religion. The way he would speak about certain shows, and how specific songs would give him the chills. Today, looking back on it, Trucks notes that he had a “really unique upbringing and career arc.” But that’s the kind of origin story that leads to Grammy Awards, and lands players on greatest guitarists lists. That unusual arc also includes the release of four new LPs in 2022 by the group Trucks started with his acclaimed musician wife, Susan Tedeschi, the final of which, I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell, drops Friday (August 26).