The Derek Trucks Band

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Trucks took up the guitar at age 9, and it was quickly apparent that he was a child prodigy. He was playing with a band and touring within two years. His early repertoire was heavily blues-based, obviously inspired by The Allman Brothers Band, of which his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks, is a founding member. Older bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf, jazz musicians Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Charlie Christian and later Wayne Shorter and many others, became an influence for Trucks a few years later. Eastern Music, mainly Indian Classical, also affected Trucks's musical development, primarily his slide guitar playing, which is often compared to that of Duane Allman but is also heavily influenced by sarod players like Ali Akbar Khan. In 2003, he was the youngest guitarist on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time, and has been hailed as one of the greatest slide guitarists since Duane Allman.

The Derek Trucks Band was formed in 1994, and has been Trucks's primary musical outlet ever since. The current members of the band are:
* Derek Trucks – guitar
* Kofi Burbridge – keyboards, flute, and vocals (and brother of Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge)
* Todd Smallie – bass and vocals
* Yonrico Scott – drums, percussion, and vocals
* Mike Mattison – lead vocals
* Count M'Butu – percussion

In 1999, Derek Trucks joined his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks, as a member of The Allman Brothers Band, while continuing to lead his own band. With the Allman Brothers Band he has performed on 2000's Peakin' at the Beacon, 2003's Hittin' the Note, 2003's live DVD At the Beacon Theatre, and 2004's One Way Out.

Trucks' guitar playing is unusual in a number of respects. He steadfastly avoids processing and effects, preferring to get the purest tone possible by connecting his guitar directly to his amplifier, a 1964 Fender Super Reverb. He modifies his tone with the controls on the guitar. He plays without the use of a plectrum (pick), using his fingers instead, plucking primarily with the thumb, index and middle fingers, but also using the ring finger on occasion. He developed his technique himself. His guitar is always tuned to Open E. [1] From the low to high string, (i.e., EBEG#Be) he slightly detunes his low E string (a technique he and Jimmy Herring developed while playing together). Open E is a normal tuning for slide players, as it allows them to form chords more easily, but over the years he has become a highly acclaimed straight lead player without switching to standard tuning (EADGBe).

In 2001, Trucks married singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. The couple have two children: Charles Kahlil Trucks (born March 8, 2002), and Sophia Naima Trucks (born August 9, 2004). Charles is named for saxophonist Charlie Parker and guitarist Charlie Christian; his middle name is taken from author Khalil Gibran. The name Sophia has mystic overtones (meaning "Wisdom" in Greek), and the unusual middle name comes from the Coltrane ballad, which was also the jazz legend's wife's name.

As of early 2006, Trucks is an accompanying guitarist in Eric Clapton's 2006-2007 touring band. In early 2006, Trucks lost equipment, as an equipment trailer was stolen. Some of the gear was recovered on May 18, 2006, as reported in the Columbia Records Derek Trucks Forum. Gear that was reported as recovered from a field outside Atlanta, GA includes Derek's "1965 BFSR, the amp he's been playing since he was a young boy; Derek's 1968 SFSR (one of the backup amps),the DTB's Hammond B-3, two Leslies, a Hohner E-7 Clavinet, and a few other minor items."