Ben Tucker

Who was Ben Tucker?

Benjamin M. "Ben" 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 original 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 American jazz singer Mel Tormé in 1962.

In 1963 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.

He died in a traffic collision in Hutchinson Island, Georgia, on June 4, 2013. http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/20548509-418/ben-tucker-82-popular-jazz-bassist-killed-in-golf-cart-accident.html