Ben Tucker


Benjamin M. Tucker was an American jazz bassist who appeared on hundreds of recordings. Tucker played on albums by Art Pepper, Billy Taylor, Quincy Jones, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Hank Crawford, Junior Mance, and Herbie Mann.
He was born in Tennessee. As bass player in the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961, he wrote the instrumental version of the song "Comin' Home Baby!", first issued on the album Two Feet in the Gutter. Bob Dorough later wrote a lyric to the song, and the vocal version became a Top 40 hit for jazz singer Mel Tormé in 1962.
Tucker released the album Baby, You Should Know It with Victor Feldman, Larry Bunker, Bobby Thomas, Ray Crawford, Tommy Tedesco, and Carlos "Patato" Valdes.
By 1972, Tucker owned two radio stations, WSOK-AM, which had over 400,000 listeners, and WLVH-FM. Both of these were located in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. During the 1990s he owned a jazz bar in Savannah called Hard Hearted Hannah's.
He died in a traffic collision in Hutchinson Island, Georgia, on June 4, 2013.

Discography

Leader

  • Sweet Thunder
  • ''Baby, You Should Know It''

    Sideman

With Mose Allison
  • The Word from Mose
With Dave Bailey
  • Reaching Out
  • Bash!
  • 2 Feet in the Gutter
With Kenny Burrell
With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
  • Love Calls
With Lou Donaldson
  • Gravy Train
With Teddy Edwards
With Gil Evans
  • The Individualism of Gil Evans
With Dexter Gordon
  • Clubhouse
With Grant Green
  • Green Street
  • Sunday Mornin
  • Grantstand
With Chico Hamilton
With Roland Hanna
  • Easy to Love
With Willis Jackson
  • Gator's Groove
With Illinois Jacquet
  • The Message
  • Bottoms Up
With Quincy Jones
With Clifford Jordan
  • Soul Fountain
With Yusef Lateef
With Junior Mance
  • The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance
With Herbie Mann
With Warne Marsh
  • Jazz of Two Cities
With Pat Martino
  • Strings!
  • East!
With James Moody
With Gerry Mulligan
  • Jeru
With Mark Murphy
With Oliver Nelson
  • Fantabulous
With Art Pepper
With Lalo Schifrin
With Bola Sete
  • Bossa Nova
With Jimmy Smith
  • Got My Mojo Workin
With Jeremy Steig
  • Flute Fever
With Sonny Stitt
  • Sax Expressions
With Billy Taylor
With Harold Vick'
  • ''Commitment''