would be the band's first hit single. As usual, Hornsby knew what he was talking about. The record reached #14 in the spring of '77, and the LP, Carolina Dreams, made it all the way to #23.


Carolina Dreams was followed by To-


gether Forever, and in 1979, the band's label, Capricorn was going bankrupt. The Tuckers signed with Warner Brothers, and in 1979, the recorded their first WB album, Runnin' Like the Wind, followed shortly thereafter by Tenth, which would be the last album to feature Toy's brother, Tommy. Tommy was hospitalized fol- lowing a Jeep wreck in downtown Spartanburg on April 22, 1980, and passed away at Spartan- burg General Hospital on April 28, just one month after a wreck involving a county mainte- nance vehicle and a car driven by younger brother Tim claimed the life of his brother. After Tommy's death, The Marshall


Tucker Band was really considering calling it quits. The band had not only lost a brother and a friend, but they had also lost their number one cheerleader and business man. "It was Toy's call," says Riddle. " He felt very strongly that Tommy would want us to con- tinue."


The band called in long-time friend,


Franklin Wilkie, and recorded Dedicated. A cou- ple of albums later, band tensions were at an all- time high, due to fatigue and conflicting agendas. In June of 1984, Toy Caldwell, George McCorkle and Paul Riddle all decided to call it quits. Doug Gray and Jerry Eubanks chose to carry on as The Marshall Tucker Band. Toy went into the studio with producer


Paul Hornsby in 1984, and recorded an unre- leased solo album. He started playing here and there with his own band, and putting together material for another album. He made appear- ances all around the United States, showing up at Charlie Daniel's Volunteer Jams and sitting in with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams, Jr. and played a series of shows opening for The Outlaws, with them also acting as his backup band.


By 1992, The Toy Caldwell Band had so- lidified, and included guitarist Pick Pickens,


bassist Tony Heatherly and drummer Mark Bur- rell. Cabin Fever Records released Toy Cald- well, an excellent solo album which featured guest appearances by Gregg Allman, Charlie Daniels and Willie Nelson, among others. His hot-rocking "I Hear the South Calling Me" was a major hit with Toy's fans, and his re-tooled "This Ol' Cowboy" was a sure-fire winner. Per- haps the finest track was a newer Caldwell com- position, the bluesy "Midnight Promises," a duet with Gregg Allman. "Oh yeah, Toy Caldwell was a good ol'


guy," recalls Gregg Allman. "I played on his last record, and I never got to see him after that. I really enjoyed it. "Midnight Promises." We recorded down at Mud Island in Memphis. In that old fire house they made into a studio. They had a B-3 set up and hell, I was out of there in two hours. I was in the moooood!" That same year, Toy was greeted with open arms by the fans at Charlie Daniel's Volunteer Jam, and over 50,000 fans went berserk when Toy pulled out "Can't You See" at Willie Nel- son's Farm Aid concert in Dallas. Just as everything looked as though it was


coming together for Toy, he slipped away from us. He died on February 25, 1993, from respira- tory failure, brought about by health complica- tions. The music world was devastated. At Toy's funeral, mourners listened as


long-time friend Al Crisp spoke about the happy times with Toy Talmadge Caldwell, Jr., and Richard Betts from the Allman Brothers Band joined George McCorkle, Paul Riddle and others to sing "Can't You See." A sea of fans, friends, and family listened


to the eulogy, delivered by the Rev. Bill Gowan, who said, "He truly had an abundance of love." The Reverend also spoke of Toy's love for his family, friends and his music. "Toy was just ol' Toy," recalled long-time


friend Charlie Daniels. "He was generous. I've had him give me stuff you wouldn't believe. Back in that same time when we weren't making a lot of money, he gave me four brand new speakers, and he wouldn't let me pay him for 'em. He said, "I can't use 'em. I play with my thumb, and they're Celestions, they don't have


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