Marshall Tucker Band circa 1972

Vintage album covers, a key to the city of Spartanburg, S.C. and Marshall Tucker Band paraphernalia line the walls of “The Drum Pad,” a doublewide trailer converted into a classroom on the Christ Church Episcopal School (CCES) campus in Greenville, S.C. Multiple drum kits are scattered throughout the room.

Paul T. Riddle, the original drummer for the Marshall Tucker Band, has given the place a homey feel – you don’t even realize you’re in a “portable” once inside. The sandy-haired percussive whiz turns on lights and straightens furniture, moving briskly around the studio where he teaches year-round drum lessons to elementary, middle and high school students.

The self-proclaimed “Drummer from Drayton” who grew up in a Spartanburg mill village has found a new groove 25 years after the original Marshall Tucker Band dissolved. In addition to teaching drum lessons, he’s married to CCES Lower School Chaplain “Ms. Valerie,” and manages and produces bands.

He jokingly says that his MTB bandmates took him away from his mother when he was 16 years old in tenth grade at Spartanburg High School. Rhythm guitarist George McCorkle had heard about Riddle’s jazz drumming prowess and wanted him to play with his band. “He was playing all this edgy metal-y stuff that I didn’t know a thing about,” Riddle says. “When I first met him, he was intimidating. He was the oldest guy in the band, too.”

Riddle also notes that bassist Tommy Caldwell was “by far the leader of the band. He influenced me more than any other person on this planet outside my parents. We were joined at the hip.”

In the early ‘80s, Riddle sold his rights to the Marshall Tucker Band name and left the group. “I called Toy [Caldwell, guitarist/vocalist] and said, ‘We need to hang ‘em up.’ It just wasn’t what it was supposed to be anymore.” (To hear the MTB in its prime, check out the recently released Way out West! Live from San Francisco 1973. )

Riddle with the ABB

In the years after MTB, the drummer filled in for Jaimoe on two Allman Brothers tours – summer tour in 1994 and fall tour in 1996 – when he was sidelined with back problems. He also won a Grammy for his contributions to “Jessica” on ABB’s live release 2nd Set which highlighted the ‘94 shows.

“Jaimoe and Butch [Trucks] and I have known each other for over 35 years. I met them when I was a baby,” Riddle laughs. “Butchie and I are close and talk a lot and I could call up Jaimoe right now and we may talk for three hours, and he may be silent for an hour – he’s like my big brother. They both are.”

Riddle was the only surviving member of MTB invited to play at the ABB’s 40th anniversary shows at New York’s Beacon Theatre in March of 2009. He watched every show and was especially touched when the band asked him to sit in on a cover of the MTB classic “Can’t You See” with avid MTB fan Kid Rock (vocals) and Jimmy Hall (harmonica, vocals). "Butchie asked me if I cried, and I said, “‘Hell, I cried at rehearsal!’”

Currently, he’s preparing to release a new record with local jazz guitarist and teacher Steve Watson called Watson’s Riddle, featuring keyboardist Chuck Leavell who he’s shared the stage with in Sea Level and the Allmans. “Chuck Leavell’s piano playing is so Southern to me,” says Riddle who plays drums on the album and produced it with the help of former MTB producer Paul Hornsby. "It’s a treat to hear him play.

“It’s like an instrumental pop record,” continues the drummer of his latest endeavor. “It’s not heavy fusion. It’s very melodic. I’m proud of the musicianship and the songs are cool.”

While he’s busy with new projects, MTB’s legacy remains a large part of Riddle’s day-to-day life. “I’m proud the music holds up,” he says of the canon. “Pick any music and it’s simple: It’s all about the melodies. If you don’t have great songs, you don’t have anything. It was believable and blatantly honest.”