Marshall Tucker Band to perform in Newton

For more than 40 years, people have had a hard time defining precisely what kind of music the Marshall Tucker Band plays.

Doug Gray can sympathize. He has had the same problem — and he co-founded the group.

“We’re doing the same thing now that we were doing then,” says Gray, who remains the band’s lead vocalist. “We don’t have a clue what that is, but whatever it is, it’s good music.”

Fans and other performers would agree. The Marshall Tucker Band pioneered a mix of country, rock, R&B, gospel and jazz that is now known as Southern rock.

Gray says he has been pleased by the fact that contemporary country artists such as Florida Georgia Line and Garth Brooks have cited the Marshall Tucker Band as an important influence.

“People realize that we have country roots,” Gray says. “We played the Grand Ole Opry recently, and a lot of artists are giving tribute to us. These are people who grew up listening to us.”

Gray and the other members of the current line-up of the Marshall Tucker Band will play the Newton Theatre tonight.

The band (which took its name from a piano tuner whose name was on a key to the rehearsal space that the musicians were using) was formed in 1972 in the area of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Joining Gray in that first incarnation were principal songwriter and guitarist Toy Caldwell, his brother Tommy Caldwell on bass, and Jerry Eubanks (whose sax and flute constituted an integral part of the band’s sound).

Each musician brought a different skill set to the band. “I liked R&B,” says Gray. “One guy might like jazz more. We all had something Southern in us.”

Though Gray sang most of the band’s songs (including its Top 20 hit, “Heard It in a Love Song”) he credits Toy Caldwell for taking the lead on a song that emerged as a concert favorite, “Can’t You See?”

“Toy had a different voice than I did. He had a yelling, testifying voice that was right for ‘Can’t You See?’ ” Gray says.

“Everybody had input in the songs,” Gray says. “It makes it quite beautiful, to be honest. I’m still proud of what we did.”

The personnel of the Marshall Tucker Band changed, sometimes for catastrophic reasons. Tommy Caldwell was killed in a car accident in 1980. Toy Caldwell left in 1983 and died 10 years later. Other original members pursued solo careers.

“We’ve lost guys, but the younger guys in the band want to play what we play,” Gray says. “They grew up with us, and they have the ability to do what we’ve always done.”

Gray now plays with Marcus James Henderson on keyboard and flute, Rick Willis on guitar, Pat Elwood on bass, and B.B. Borden on drums.

Another musician who played with Marshall Tucker Band for a time is guitarist and mandolin player Clay Cook, who is now a member of the Zac Brown Band.

“I think the Zac Brown Band will be around 40 years from now,” says Gray, who adds with a laugh that he may be prejudiced, because Cook is his nephew. “I think they’re great. They treat their fans like human beings.”

Gray says that the connection between performer and audience is also at the heart of the durability of the Marshall Tucker Band.

“I’ve seen a lot of No. 1 bands that act like they’re better than their public,” Gray says. “We’ve never felt that. We’re all equals.”

MARSHALL TUCKER BAND

WHEN: 8 tonight

WHERE: Newton Theatre,

234 Spring St., Newton

TICKETS: $39 to $69

INFORMATION: 973-383-3700 or www.thenewtontheatre.com