Robbie Tucker is a singer, songwriter, and producer from Miramichi, New Brunswick. A keen lover of music his whole life, Tucker treasures melodies from some of the greats, including Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, and Elvis Presley. Nowhere is this more evident than in his unique brand of pop-folk, which is playful, creative, and surprising, sprinkled with a touch of Orbison’s vocal tone and writing style.
Robbie discovered his love for music early on when his parents gave him an acoustic guitar for his 8th birthday. He began performing live in junior high school with his very first cover band Repossessed and from there moved on to performing solo and writing his own material.
Heavily influenced by Paul McCartney and inspired by the former Beatle’s 1970 self produced album, McCartney, Robbie followed in his footsteps and released his first album, The Ledden Street Sessions.
In the years that followed, this indie artist began dealing with health issues, seeing a steady decline in his physical abilities. In 2004, after moving to Montreal while in the middle of recording his 2nd album, he finally received a diagnosis. Early on-set Parkinson’s disease.
In 2007, while promoting his 3rd album, GreenRoom, Robbie formed a backing group he called The Dangerous Crayons. A fierce nine-piece band equipped with a four-piece brass section. It was during this period that Gabi Kislat, an independent filmmaker, began creating a documentary that focused on Robbie’s life and music during the first years following his diagnosis at 28.
Robbie performed with The Dangerous Crayons until the end of 2009, at which point he put his live shows on hold. Not only was he having issues trying to navigate the disease but the side effects brought on by the medication, including impulse control disorders, hyper-sexuality, and gambling. The documentary, Musically Medicated debuted in 2013, showcasing Robbie’s music as well as featuring these deeply personal aspects of his Parkinson’s diagnosis and the issues with medication.
When it comes to highlights, whether it was meeting Willie Nelson or performing original music live with The Dangerous Crayons, Tucker cherishes each moment of his career. However, according to this musician, the ultimate achievement is the creation of the work he leaves behind. His music, his songs. Some of his standouts include I’m Sorry, a soaring piano ballad from the album GreenRoom (2007), Hope is All We Have, a song written for the film Nuclear Hope (2015), Wishbook, an emotional spoken-word piece from his Christmas album Peppermints (2020), and Jesus Beatrice, a bone-chilling tale dealing with spousal abuse from last year's release, The Way I Feel Vol.1 (2022).
Robbie seems to have no plans for slowing down when it comes to making new music. However, at the moment he’s waiting to have a surgery known as DBS in which electrodes are placed in the brain with the hope of getting back some of the function he's lost over the years, whether from the disease or through side effects.
In the meantime, stay tuned because Oct 20th, 2023 Robbie will release his 13th self produced album. An album he calls, Wtf is Happiness???
Album Discography https://robbietuckermusic.bandcamp.com/
Up-to-date links and all socials can be found at https://linktr.ee/robbietuckermusic