Best Debut Record by a Southern Rock Band - the Marshall Tucker Band

This is why I collect vinyl records.  What a great inside cover photo.   This is not a category any band or act wants to win - Their FIRST Record Was Their BEST Record.   But unfortunately - the Marshall Tucker Band's first record just may be their best one.  The Marshall Tucker Band is the self-titled debut album by The Marshall Tucker Band, a Southern rock band.  It was recorded in 1973 in Macon, Georgia, at Capricorn Studios.   Capricorn is this bloggers favorite record label.  The original and founding line-up here is and was: Toy Caldwell - guitar, steel guitar, lead vocals on "Can't You See," "Hillbilly Band", and "AB's Song."  Tommy Caldwell - bass guitar, background vocals; Doug Gray - lead vocals; George McCorkle – guitar; Paul Riddle - drums; and Jerry Eubanks -flute, saxophone, background vocals.  This - The Marshall Tucker Band's self-titled debut, was  produced by Paul Hornsby, and was released in 1973.  It was certified gold in 1975.  All of the tracks were written by Toy Caldwell, including "Can't You See", which was released in 1973 on Capricorn 0023.  After the album's release, the band began touring, playing upwards of 300 shows per year throughout the decade.  Southern rock fiddler Charlie Daniels later recalled that the Marshall Tucker Band "came onstage and just blew it out from start to finish."  Daniels' first of many collaborations with the Marshall Tucker Band came on the band's second album, A New Life, which was released in 1974, and certified gold in 1977.  Daniels and blues guitarist Elvin Bishop were among several musicians that joined the band for Where We All Belong, a double-album (one studio album and one live album) released by the band in 1974 and certified gold that same year. The following year the band's Searchin' for a Rainbow was also certified gold the year of its release, and contained the track "Fire on the Mountain," which peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard charts.  Long Hard Ride, the band's fifth consecutive gold album, was released in 1976, and its instrumental title track (which again features Charlie Daniels on fiddle) was nominated for a Grammy.  Carolina Dreams, released in 1977 and certified platinum that same year, proved to be the band's most commercially-successful album, and included the track "Heard It In a Love Song," which reached No. 14 on the Billboard charts.  The band's final Capricorn release came with 1978's Together Forever, which was produced by Stewart Levine.