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"Sweet Shop" Tucka (New 5-Star Album Review!)
May 1, 2019:
Originally posted in Daddy B. Nice's New CD Reviews.
April 14, 2019:  TUCKA: Working With The Feeling (Hit Nation) Five Stars ***** Can't Miss. Pure Southern Soul Heaven. The Southern Soul singer Hollywood Hayes, best known for his tune "A.P.B. Out On Her," recorded a song last year called "Vitamin D," in which he censured his significant other as follows:
"The word on the streets,
You've been with Pokey the Bear.
You realize, ain't no pokin' in there.
And the word on the streets,
You've been chasing pretty-boy Tucka,
And you realize, he ain't lickin' that."
So I've been wondering... Did Tucka cutting off his spectacular dreads and donning Von Miller-like specs and a porkpie hat--his newest image--have anything to do with that pretty-boy shout-out from Hollywood Hayes?
Whether it's the product of a heartthrob or a nerd (yeah, haha, nobody's buying that), Tucka's new album Working With The Feeling is, as your Daddy B. Nice has previously reported, a "bagful of hits". I've been rolling out one or two singles a month since the CD appeared in late November of 2018--a little late, unfortunately, for serious consideration in last year's awards--and still find in reviewing the album that I haven't promoted all of its pleasures.
From the singles charts at SouthernSoulRnB:
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------DECEMBER 2018-------
1. "Ain't No Getting Over Me" -----Tucka
Cupid couldn't have shot an arrow at your heart more accurately than Tucka does with this stunning cover of the Ronnie Milsap country classic. Once you hear it, you won't be able to forget it. (I recorded a "short version" without the opening voice-over.)
Listen to Tucka singing "Ain't No Getting Over Me" on YouTube.
See Daddy B. Nice's Tucka: New Album Alert!
2. "Tipsy"-----Tucka
In my "New Album Alert" for Tucka I listed this song's antecedents as Frank Lucas' "The Man With The Singing Ding-A-Ling," Betty Wright's "Tonight Is The Night" and The Rascals "Groovin'". But of the three, "Tipsy" with its inebriated "brown liquor love" most resembles the sunny, romantic buzz of the original, "Groovin'/ On a Sunday afternoon..."
Listen to Tucka singing "Tipsy" on YouTube.
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album at iTunes.
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------JANUARY 2019-------
…3. "Big Train"-----Tucka
As a vocalist, Tucka is quite simply unsurpassed, and the driving acoustic-guitar sound of this tune and the Working With The Feeling album as a whole is intoxicating.
Listen to Tucka singing "Big Train" on YouTube.
And…
…6. "Make Me Wanna Do Wrong"-----Tucka
The Pied Piper of Louisiana will add to his long caravan of fans with this ratcheted-down, reggae-rhythm-section-dominated gem.
Listen to Tucka singing "Make Me Wanna Do Wrong" on YouTube.
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Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------MARCH 2019-------
...3. "Jungle Love"----- Tucka
I hear a little Bo Diddley in the instrumental track and a little Buddy Holly in the vocal. From Tucka's new, "every-song's-a-classic" album, Working With The Feeling.
Listen to Tucka singing "Jungle Love" on YouTube.
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In summary, an unprecedented number of singles from WORKING WITH THE FEELING made the charts, and these tunes--"Tipsy," "Make Me Wanna Do Wrong," "Ain't No Getting Over Me," "Big Train," "Jungle Love"--surfaced in airplay across the Deep South from eastern Texas to the Carolina's. The numbers of YouTube viewings (as of 4/14/19) back up the hype: "Ain't No Getting Over Me" (76,000), "Make Me Wanna Do Wrong" (26,000), "Big Train" (27,000), "Jungle Love" (43,000) and "Tipsy" (22,000).
Actually, as time has passed and the intimacy of the album as a whole has sunk in, I even enjoy Tucka's voice-over segueing into "Ain't No Getting Over Me." And when I say "intimacy" I'm not talking about the sensual, between-the-sheets talk of "Candy Land" or "Sweet Shop". I'm talking about the intimacy with which Tucka addresses his listeners throughout the set, as if they're V.I.P. guests in the studio while he's working through these comely melodies. For example, at the beginning of "Tipsy," Tucka chuckles and says, "I'm gonna definitely need my cigar on this one." At the beginning of "Big Train" he says, "Hello? Hello?", as if he's got a bad cell-phone connection. Combined with the warm, acoustic, surround-sound feel of the instrumental tracks, Working With The Feeling is one of the most ingratiating albums I've ever experienced.
If it weren't for the hummable melodies and supple bass lines, the artist's comments before songs would be so much self-indulgence, but the album is so packed with good songs Tucka more than gets away with it. This is the kind of music that you can, as it were, fall backwards and know that you will be caught in welcoming arms and smothered in musical comfort. Baby boomers who think music like Mary Wells' "You Beat Me To The Punch" has disappeared from the face of the earth are sadly mistaken. And when zydeco star Chris Ardoin says his audiences doubled when he crossed over and got the "swing-out" crowd," you can read "Tucka," the "King Of Swing". What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that WORKING WITH THE FEELING takes you to a level seldom seen these days, a level even Tucka himself has never attained. You can revel in the instrumental tracks and the lyrics in the same way you did back in the day with Marvin Gaye, The Impressions, The Beatles or The Blue Notes. Within the southern soul market, I'd compare it to the respective, arguable masterpieces of LaMorris Williams (Mississippi Motown) and Vick Allen (Soul Music).
Tucka's WORKING WITH THE FEELING is all about separation. Strained relationships are by no means the theme of every song, but the tension that accompanies break-ups is central and stands out on some of the set's most memorable cuts.
In "Big Train" ("She took the six o'clock to Memphis/Said that she'll be back one day/But it's too late/ Big train, keep on rolling.").
In "Ain't No Getting Over Me" ("She likes to threaten, how she's going to leave me, "You're gonna miss this one day"... And I said to myself, "Shit, you're gonna miss this, too.").
And yet, Tucka doesn't get the blues; he remains buoyant and positive.
If the songs on this album are a departure--or a step up--for Tucka, how so? More mature? More down to earth? The album almost pleads for an answer, and yet the mystery of how and why remains. The new songs aren't necessarily better than "Touch Your Spot" or "Sweet Shop," but the addition of conflict as a theme does make his world more inclusive--sharper, more interesting.
Nor are the preceding songs (all charted) the only tunes of merit. "Rock Steady" (68,000 YouTube views) with its crisp percussion, charismatic bass and doodling keyboards (courtesy of producer "J Flood" (Jerry Flood) "on the track")--is another tune worthy of airplay.
A dominating, acoustic guitar-driven, instrumental track propels the roundelay "Rhythm Of My Guitar" (58,000 YouTube views). "So you think you're going to find another--another like me?" Tucka asks in "Rhythm," once again diagnosing those painful possibilities of breaking up.
And finally, and most astoundingly, with a whopping 508,000 YouTube views, boyish-sounding Audi Yo joins up with Tucka on "Until The Morning Comes," just as he did on the pair's previous and immensely popular collaboration: "Can't Nobody".
Paradoxically, the only song that doesn't fit into the gorgeous, homogeneously-acoustic texture of Tucka's Working With The Feeling album is the title track itself, written seemingly for a different time and place, (after the fact? before the fact?) circa seventies Average White Band. That's not a disparagement--AWB is one of the most sampled bands in R&B history--but the sound (you might call it disco-ey) is markedly different from anything else on the album. I think of the song "Working With The Feeling" as the one and only flaw in this extraordinary album--like the one sharp pinch you give yourself to make sure you're awake, you're not dreaming and this is for real.
--Daddy B. Nice
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album at Amazon.
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album at iTunes.
Read Daddy B. Nice's Artist Guide to Tucka.
Browse Tucka CD's in Daddy B. Nice's CD/MP3 Store.
April 14, 2019:
Daddy B. Nice reviews Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album. See NEW CD REVIEWS.
November 25, 2018: New Album Alert!
WORKING WITH THE FEELING
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING CD at CD Baby.
1. Working with the Feeling
2. Tipsy
3. Make Me Wanna Do Wrong
4. Rythym of My Guitar
5. Ain't No Getting over Me
6. Big Train
7. Jungle Love
8. Rock Steady
9. Until the Morning Come
Listen to Tucka singing "Tipsy" on YouTube.
Daddy B. Nice notes: Tucka is a master at exploring the chords of previous classics and making something new out of them, always with the confidence that his style will carry the day. And so it is with "Tipsy," which has quietly amassed 100,000-plus views on YouTube over the preceding months. "Tipsy" takes its cue from the chords and tempo of Frank Lucas' "The Man With The Singing Ding-A-Ling," a mark of artistic respect Lucas-dismissive fans should note. At one point Tucka even inserts a small Lucas-homage. While many fans maintain that Lucas's chords came from Betty Wright's "Tonight Is The Night" (fair enough) I'd remind them that Betty's chords came from The Rascals' (and writer/producer/singer Felix Cavaliere's) "Groovin'". And before that...who knows?
The other thing about "Tipsy" is you really can feel "tipsy" listening to the track. The lyrics are a big part of it, but it extends to--I don't know what, I can't put my finger on it--something (or things) in the actual production.
The album consists of a mere nine cuts, but they all count. The mid-tempo rocking of "Make Me Wanna Do Wrong" hews to a straightforward reggae rhythm section, de-emphasized enough to fit into the Tucka mold, and yet, towards the end, the brazen Tucka does a voice-over in reggae-patois that, as with the Lucas snippet, all but "hollas" from the rooftops its source in the Caribbean.
"The Rhythm Of My Guitar" has no obvious antecedents, springing out of some God-given well of inspiration. "Ain't No Getting Over Me," on the other hand, is a faithful cover of country star Ronnie Milsap's song of the same name.
This album is like the greatest box of assorted chocolates you ever got from your enamored. Each piece is delectable in a different and distinct way.
Listen to Tucka singing the songs from WORKING WITH THE FEELING on YouTube.
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album at iTunes.
Buy Tucka's new WORKING WITH THE FEELING album at Amazon .
February 28, 2018:
Daddy B. Nice Announces THE WINNERS of the 2017 (11th Annual) SOUTHERN SOUL MUSIC AWARDS.
Best Male Vocalist (Co-Winners!) Top Contenders:
“Pretty Girl” ----- J-Wonn (w/ Tucka)
“I Drinks My Whiskey” ---- David Brinston
 “Do You Want Somebody?” ----- Alonzo Reid (w/ Lakeisha)
"It Ain't Go Work" ---- Pokey Bear (w/ Miss Portia)
“I Could Sure Use A Drink Right Now” ---- Avail Hollywood
“My Country Girl” ----- Jeter Jones
“She Don’t Want Me No More” ---- Mr. Sam
“Darkest Hour” ---- Big G
“I’ll Take Your Word For It” ----- Vick Allen
“'Til The Sun Comes Up” ----- Tucka
“I’m Stepping Out” ---- Mr. Campbell
“Don’t Blame It On Jody” ----- Adrian Bagher
“Caller I.D.” ---- El’ Willie
“Mississippi Style” ---- Jaye Hammer
"Shake Something (Remix)" ---- J. Red (w/ Ms. Lady Soul, Columbus Toy)
“Preacher Car In My Yard” ---- Luther Lackey
“Please Don't Leave My Wife Alone” ---- Lomax
“All I Need Is You” ----- Pokey Bear (w/ Crystal Thomas)
"Bedroom Rodeo (Remix)" ---- Big Yayo (w/ Omar Cunningham, Gentry Jones)
"Mojo Woman" ---- Joe "Blues" Butler
Best Male Vocalist (Co-Winners): J-Wonn & Tucka for "Pretty Girls"Listen to J-Wonn & Tucka singing "Pretty Girls" on YouTube.
See J'Wonn's and Tucka's other nominations in Daddy B. Nice's Best of 2017.
December 2, 2017:
CHART-CLIMBER!:
Tucka and "The Sweet Shop" Climbs From The #43 Spot On Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 Southern Soul Countdown To #23!
The chart ranks the top one hundred contemporary southern soul singles over the last sixteen years--ultimately a twenty-year period (from 2000-2020).
See Tucka's new position on the Chart.
Tucka also becomes the #23-ranked artist on Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 21st Century Southern Soul Artists Chart.
See the chart.
Daddy B. Nice notes:
Since his album debut Love Rehab in November 2009, Tucka (the performing name of Louisianan Tucka James) has blazed his own singular path to a fame surpassing scores of long-established recording artists of the Deep South and the chitlin' circuit. Marketing himself as the "King Of Swing," he initially established himself on the Gulf Coast without any help or ties to the southern soul community. As time and the albums have accrued, he nevertheless has become a headliner on the southern soul circuit, brandishing a number of images--from pony-tailed heart-throb to body-building specimen to his current "Von Miller" look complete with nerdy spectacles. His musical brand has catapulted him into an envied headliner in the Deep South venues of the Blues Is Alright tour, and he routinely headlines with stars such as Sir Charles Jones.
**Note that a few of the YouTube links originally posted to this page have been taken down due to ongoing copyright litigation with a former producer.
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For the latest updates on Tucka, scroll down to the "Tidbits" section. To automatically link to Tucka's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations on the website, go to "Tucka" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.
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Listen to Tucka singing "The Sweet Shop" on YouTube while you read.
July 1, 2014: Daddy B. Nice's Profile of Tucka:
Buried in the middle of a list of derivative and otherwise unremarkable songs on Tucka's first full-length album, Love Rehab, "Work It Out" was the harbinger of the "Tucka" sound.
Listen to Tucka singing "Work It Out" on YouTube.
And beginning in the summer of 2010, in response to the airplay given the subtly-bouncing, mid-tempo "Work It Out" and the singer's highly-addictive, somehow-different, smokier tenor, an audience sprang to life. No one knew who the young man was; everyone wanted to hear him.
The sound was more sugary and commercial-sounding than the southern soul singers in northern Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. (Tucka's base was southwest Louisiana). His sound in-sourced Cajun, Caribbean, hip-hop, AND southern soul influences, running them through a strong "keepin'-it-on-the-down-low" filter.
So that even when you sensed Tucka had the vocal chops to belt out something forceful and melodramatic, he refrained from doing so, keeping the beat as even-keeled as a Donna Summer/Georgio Moroder disco anthem, avoiding crescendos and climaxes, muffling the latent emotion behind "Work It Out" like some "Mellow Yellow," southern-soul/zydeco Donovan.
 Tucka had gotten his start in music working with renowned zydeco recording artist Keith Frank, no stranger himself to line-blurring musicianship between the genres. Two of his songs had crossed over into southern soul airspace.
Listen to Keith Frank singing "Cassanova" on YouTube.
Listen to Keith Frank singing "Haterz" on YouTube.
Seasoned by his sojourn with Frank, fresh from the missed opportunities of his first full-length album, Tucka wasted no time putting out a second, much better one. Forever King was anchored by another surefire, swinging-at-midtempo hit, "Don't Make Me Beg."
Listen to Tucka singing "Don't Make Me Beg" on YouTube.
The album featured a much more confident and focused songwriter and vocalist comfortable with his own themes and techniques--witness the sure-handed title tune, "Candyland".
Following closely on the heels of FOREVER KING, Love Rehab 2 published in 2012, was another resounding success, improving even more on what was now unmistakably Tucka's sound with another mellow, mid-tempo classic: Sweet Shop.
Listen to Tucka singing "Sweet Shop" on YouTube.
"Sweet Shop" wasn't the only radio-worthy track on LOVE REHAB 2. Tucka also scored with "Forever Swing," accompanied by the ever-buoyant Doug E. Fresh.
And, as if to emphasize that he was no one-hit or two-hit wonder, the album contained another Tucka track that swiftly moved up Gulf-coast music charts--"Book Of Love"--making at least three singles which, once exposed to radio, had fans tying up request lines.
The most prominent Deep South station to popularize Tucka was Mobile, Alabama's WDLT, led by deejays Beverly McDowell, Nikki DeMarks and Stormy on their excellent "All Blues Saturdays," where Tucka--through sheer talent and charisma--became close to a "resident" artist.
Other Southern Soul radio stations, led by Jackson, Mississippi's WMPR and Memphis, Tennessee's WDIA, were much slower to join the bandwagon. Nor did Tucka market to the southern soul market, for the most part.
And yet, so beguiling was the music and the message, random deejays (often the younger jocks) began playing "Don't Make Me Beg," "Sweet Shop," "Book Of Love" and "Candyland" anyway, introducing Tucka to Delta audiences and southern soul fans around the world.
In one very meaningful sense, Tucka did market his music. Everything he did, he put on YouTube, rejecting the notion that "free" equals capitulation. In this he followed in the footsteps of another Louisiana mentor, Cupid, who had used YouTube to "brand" his name.
And by teaming with other gulf-coast performers (Tyree Neal, Doug E. Fresh, Pokey etc.) on some of the YouTube "freebies," Tucka raised his no-charge profile even more.
Tucka's verses on Pokey's "They Call Me Pokey (Remix) were especially revealing. underlining by contrast with his collaborators' styles the very special and singular tone of his vocals.
Listen to Tucka singing on the Pokey remix, "They Call Me Pokey."
By 2014, the sheer quality and quantity of the music had more than made up for what would have been radio-airplay time in the good old days. And, as this article was being written, Tucka had just announced a "Touch Your Spot Tour featuring Tucka," including at least one date with veteran Jeff Floyd ("I Found Love On A Lonely Highway") and newcomer Columbus Toy.
Tucka had only recently headlined a gig with fellow young-gun Avail Hollywood in a longtime mecca of southern soul music, Monroe, Louisiana, also known to HBO's "True Blood" audience as the neighboring city to vampire-ridden Bon Temps, home of "Sookie" Stackhouse.
And as this article was being written, your Daddy B. Nice posted the following.
(From Daddy B. Nice's Concert Calendar)
Saturday, August 30, 2014. Casino Beach, 4 Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach, Florida. Gulf Coast Summer Festival. Tucka, Lacee, Gina Brown, Johnny Gill, Dru Hill, Average White Band, Will Downing. Gates open 12 Noon.
Clearly, the young man who as recently as his newest album, Groove City, could humbly write--
"I'm gonna be somebody.
I know someone gonna give me a chance.
I'm gonna be somebody.
Yes, I am. Yes, I am."
--had already negotiated some kind of fine arrival.
--Daddy B. Nice
About Tucka (New 5-Star Album Review!)
Tucka James grew up in Loreauville, Louisiana. He got his start with Keith Frank. Tucka writes and produces all of his music.
Tucka Discography:
Love Rehab (Top Authority/Tucka Ent.) 2009
Love Rehab
Forever King (Top Authority) 2011
Forever King
Love Rehab 2 (Juke Joint Music) 2012
Love Rehab 2
Groove City (Tucka/Groove City Music) 2014
Groove City
Long live The King (Groove City Music) 2016
Long Live The King
Working With The Feeling (Hit Nation) 2018
Working With The Feeling
Cecil Green is Tucka's usual producer.
To instantly link to all the awards, citations and other references to Tucka on the website, go to "Tucka" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.
Tidbits
1.
June 25, 2014:
Tucka on YouTube
Listen to Tucka singing "Don't Make Me Beg" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Work It Out" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Candyland" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Sweet Shop" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Book Of Love" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka and Doug E. Fresh singing "Forever Swing" Live Onstage on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka and Lacee singing "Move Something (Remix)" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka and Wochee and JPaul Jr. singing "Candyland (Remix)" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka and Tyree Neal joining Pokey in singing "They Call Me Pokey" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Troubled Man" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "I Ran A Good Man Away" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Don't Make Me Beg (New Orleans Bounce Remix)" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "She's Lovin' Me" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Moanin'" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Love Doctor" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "Back To The Sweet Shop" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing "I'm Gonna Be Somebody" on YouTube.
Listen to Tucka singing the complete playlist from his new "Groove City" CD on YouTube.
2.
June 25, 2014:
Tucka's shout-out to Nicole Jackson:
On his official video to "Work It Out," Tucka writes:
A "Shout out" goes to "Ms Nicole Jackson" for the inspiration of this song! Check out her video "Can We Go There". She is a hell of a performer, with music so so real you gotta feel her. This song is the Answer to her question!
Listen to Nicole Jackson singing "Can We Go There" on YouTube.
Daddy B. Nice notes:
Tucka used the instrumental track from Nicole Jackson's "Can We Go There" for his first radio hit, "Work It Out." The phrase "work it out" is also featured prominently in the Nicole Jackson version. Ms. Jackson's "Can We Go There charted on Daddy B. Nice's Top Ten Singles for June 2007 (#5).
"Can We Go There" was also ranked in the Top 25 Songs of the Year, as follows:
19. "Can We Go There" by Ms. Nicole Jackson
Speaking of reincarnations, here's a song reminiscent of the unforgettable "I Wanna Tear Your Playhouse Down." Like the Ann Peebles classic, it's a sweet and delectable groove done with perfect vocal poise.
The one song a gal would want to take to a desert island to get her guy primed.
See Nicole Jackson in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.
3.
June 28, 2014: NEW ALBUM ALERT
Sample/Buy Tucka's new GROOVE CITY CD.
See Daddy B. Nice's #10 "Breaking" Southern Soul Singles Review for July 2014 ("I'm Gonna Be Somebody" by Tucka").
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4.
July 1, 2014: CHART CLIMBERS!
Tucka Debuts At #73 On Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 21st Century Southern Soul Countdown
Go to chart.
Listen to Tucka singing "Sweet Shop" on YouTube while you read.
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5.
August 1, 2016:
CHART-CLIMBER!:
Tucka and "The Sweet Shop" Climbs From The #73 Spot On Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 (21st Century) Southern Soul Countdown To #43!
The chart ranks the top one hundred contemporary southern soul singles over the last sixteen years--ultimately a twenty-year period (from 2000-2020).
See Tucka's new position on the Chart.
Tucka also becomes the #43-ranked artist on Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 21st Century Southern Soul Artists Chart.
See the chart.
6.
August 7, 2016: NEW ALBUM ALERT!
Sample/Buy Tucka's new LONG LIVE THE KING CD at iTunes.
Sample/Buy Tucka's new LONG LIVE THE KING CD at CD Baby.
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Honorary "B" Side
"Don't Make Me Beg"
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Sweet Shop
CD: Love Rehab 2
Label: Tucka/Juke Joint
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Sample or Buy
Love Rehab 2 |
Don't Make Me Beg
CD: Forever King
Label: Norris Boutte/Thomas Antoine / Top Authority
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Sample or Buy
Forever King |
Back To The Sweet Shop
CD: Groove City
Label: Tucka / Groove City
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When She Said Good-Bye
CD: Long Live The King
Label: Groove City
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Work It Out
CD: Love Rehab
Label: Tucka Ent.
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Book Of Love
CD: Love Rehab 2
Label: Tucka/Juke Joint
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Sample or Buy
Love Rehab 2 |
Candyland
CD: Forever King
Label: Top Authority
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Sample or Buy
Forever Young |
Forever Swing
CD: Love Rehab 2
Label: Tucka/Juke Joint
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Sample or Buy
Love Rehab 2 |
Sweet Tooth
CD: Long Live The King
Label: Groove City
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