The Marshall Tucker Band had its hits in the 1970s. But when singer Doug Gray looks out at the audiences at the band’s shows, he doesn’t see a room full of those who grew up on the songs.

He sees a lot of people who weren’t born when “Can’t You See,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “Heard It in a Love Song” were all over the radio.

“We didn’t start out knowing these songs would be a hit, that these songs would be played 8 million times on the radio or somewhere,” Gray said. “‘Heard It in a Love Song’ is catching up to ‘Can’t You See,’ and ‘Fire on the Mountain’ is in there and they keep going up.

“It’s because of the young people and all the stuff that’s out there, in movies, on Netflix,” he said. “They hear a song, look up Marshall Tucker Band, they hit click and they download that song. It’s made life simple for them, and it’s not hurting our pocketbook at all.”

The band will perform Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Pikes Peak Center. The show is a makeup for a postponement in August.

In 1972, Gray joined five other young guys in Spartanburg, S.C., and, unintentionally, the band came up with a distinctive brand of music that got played on rock and progressive country stations.

“We did it without knowing there was any difference between country, rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, or jazz,” Gray said. “We put all of those together without knowing what the heck we were doing. We even got invited to jazz festivals.”

Back then, Toy Caldwall was the band’s primary songwriter and lead guitarist. His brother, Tommy, played bass, George McCorkle played rhythm guitar, Paul Riddle was the drummer and Jerry Eubanks played everything else — keyboards, saxophone and flute.

Gray is the only remaining original member in The Marshall Tucker Band. Tommy Caldwell died in an auto accident in 1980. Four years later, Toy Caldwell, McCorkle and Riddle retired, leaving Eubanks and Gray running the band. Eubanks retired in 1996.

“Tommy died in 1980 in a car wreck, but before that, in 1971, we had an attorney draw up an agreement, we all had first right of refusal about everything with the band,” Gray said. “Two or three shares I bought up when guys got tired of it and wanted to get off the road. That’s how I ended up with The Marshall Tucker Band.”

What: The Marshall Tucker Band with The Georgia Thunderbolts

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

Price: $35-$69.95; axs.com

The Marshall Tucker Band will perform Wednesday at Pikes Peak Center.

courtesy of Mariah Gray