The TCB Band & Artists
The TCB Band consists of four superb musicians who acquired their name through working for Elvis Presley. Elvis’ motto was “TCB” - Taking Care of Business in a flash. These three letters were arranged around a lightning bolt, and the logo was used on everything from stationary to Elvis’ private jet, the Lisa Marie. When Elvis returned to live performances in 1968, he had with him over the years a core of musicians who made up the rhythm section of the orchestra. James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Glen D. Hardin and Ron Tutt later became known as the TCB Band.
James Burton
Elvis Presley approached James and asked him to play on the famous 68 Special show, but James was working with Frank Sinatra at the time and had to decline. Elvis contacted James again in 1969 to tell him that he was returning to live performances and asked James to form a band to support him. That was when The TCB Band was formed. James continued to work with Elvis until 1977 and beyond. During the 1970s James also worked with Gram Parsons and was also a member of the Hot Band formed by Gram’s girlfriend and backing singer Emmylou Harris.
Ron Tutt
Born in Dallas, Texas, Ron started tap dancing along with singing at the age of three. He studied tap for eight years and was considered a “child prodigy” by many. By the third grade he was playing trumpet with the school orchestra, and at ten won first prize in a Dallas ukulele contest. At age eleven he tap-danced on the first ever program broadcast LIVE on television in Dallas/Fort Worth. It wasn’t until the summer of his junior year in high school that Ron gave up the trumpet and began playing drums.
Glen D. Hardin
Glen D Hardin was born in Collingsworth County, Texas. He learned to play the piano by the age of eight but hadn’t thought about playing the piano professionally until he got a job in the infamous Palomino Club in Long Beach, California. His musical career then really took off in 1962 when he became a member of The Crickets, previously Buddy Holly’s band. During this time Glen started to write music and songs not only for The Crickets but also other fellow artists at Liberty Records. In 1965, one song, Count Me In became a number one hit for Gary Lewis and The Playboys. In the same year, he joined The Shindogs with James Burton and became a regular on the TV show Shindig.
Jerry Schilling
His name is big both in the Elvis world and the world of show business. Jerry Schilling developed a deep friendship with the King of Rock n Roll that lasted twenty three years. He knew Elvis like no other. This is also the reason why Jerry was one of the main managers of the Elvis legacy. There is hardly a TV movie or a biography about Elvis, in which Jerry Schilling has not participated. Following Elvis’ death, Jerry worked as a tour manager for Billy Joel, was the personal manager of the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Sweet Inspirations.
Dennis Jale
Music was the first love and companion for the 12 years old boy. Today Dennis Jale, the marked Austrian Rock voice, is the man with the inimitable acoustic colour and the force to delight his audience with any musical genre. What started softly in a bedsit reaps today hurricanes of applause on international stages. Be it a gig with his band “The Jam Gang” which he established 1998 together with his best friend Goran Mikulec or the TCB Band – the charisme of Dennis Jale wins over.
Norbert Putnam
Norbert Putnam is considered to be one of the most genius studio bass players in Nashville, Tennessee. He performed with all major musicians of his time like Roy Orbison, Kris Kirstofferson, Henry Mancini and Linda Ronstadt. Between 1965 and 1977 he also recorded with Elvis Presley not less than 80 songs, amongst them the famous tracks from the legendary Nashville Marathons. Putnam was also very successful as a producer. Joan Baez' probably most famous song "Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was produced by him.