Moe Tucker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Moe Tucker
Tucker in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Maureen Ann Tucker
Born	(1944-08-26) August 26, 1944 (age 80) Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Origin	Levittown, New York, U.S.
Genres	Experimental rock proto-punk rock and roll art rock avant garde folk rock
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Drums percussion guitar vocals bass
Years active	1963–c. 2007
Associated acts	The Velvet Underground Half Japanese Daniel Johnston Jonathan Richman

Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician. She is famous as the drummer for the rock band the Velvet Underground. Moe sometimes sang lead vocals for the band. Her songs included "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking With You".

After the Velvet Underground broke up in the early 1970s, Moe took a break. She wanted to focus on her family. She came back to music in the 1980s. Until the late 2000s, she released four studio albums. She also played as a session musician for other artists. In 1996, Tucker was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was for her work with the Velvet Underground.

Early Life and Music Start

Maureen Tucker was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, USA. She grew up in Levittown, New York. Her family was middle-class and Catholic. Her dad, James, was a housepainter. Her mom, Margaret, worked in an office. She had an older brother, Jim, and a sister, Margo. Jim was friends with Sterling Morrison.

As a teenager, Moe loved the music of Babatunde Olatunji. She first heard his music on the radio. Olatunji, along with Bo Diddley and the Rolling Stones, made her want to be a musician. She started playing drums in 1963 when she was 19. She didn't have any lessons. She learned by playing along with popular songs on an old drum set.

Music Career

Joining The Velvet Underground

Moe Tucker started playing drums in 1963. She was 19 years old. When she was asked to join the Velvet Underground, she had left college. She was working for IBM at the time. The band's first drummer, Angus Maclise, left in 1965. He felt the band was "selling out" because they took a paid concert.

The band's guitarist, Sterling Morrison, remembered Moe. She was his high school friend Jim's younger sister. Jim played the drums. Moe was known for her unique look. But she said she never had problems because of sexism.

Moe's Drumming Style

Tucker's way of playing drums was special. She played standing up, not sitting down. This made it easier to reach the bass drum. She used a simple drum kit. It had tom toms, a snare drum, and an upside-down bass drum. She played with mallets instead of drumsticks.

She rarely used cymbals. She believed a drummer's job was just to "keep time." So, she felt cymbals were not needed. She thought they made it hard to hear other instruments. Music critic Robert Christgau said Moe was a great drummer. He felt her simple style changed music history. He said the idea of the beat in punk music started with her.

Singing and Other Roles

Besides drumming, Moe sang on three Velvet Underground songs. These were "After Hours" and "The Murder Mystery." Both were from the 1969 album The Velvet Underground. She also sang on "I'm Sticking with You." This song was recorded in 1969. It was officially released later on the 1985 album VU. Lou Reed, the band's leader, said "After Hours" was too "innocent and pure" for him to sing.

In the early days, Moe sometimes played the bass guitar live. This instrument was usually played by John Cale. If Cale was busy with other instruments, Morrison would play bass.

Leaving and Returning to the Band

Moe temporarily left the band in early 1970. She was expecting her first child, Kerry. Because of her pregnancy, Moe only played on a few songs for Loaded. This was the band's fourth and last album with Lou Reed. Billy Yule, the younger brother of bassist Doug Yule, filled in as drummer.

Moe came back to the band in late 1970. By then, Lou Reed had left. Doug Yule was leading the group. She toured North America and Europe with the band in 1970 and 1971. Soon after, she left the band and music to raise her family.

Moe Tucker joined the Velvet Underground reunion in 1993. They toured Europe and released a live album, Live MCMXCIII. In 2017, she played at the Grammy Salute to Music Legends awards. The Velvet Underground received a Merit Award. In 2021, Moe was in the documentary The Velvet Underground.

Other Music Projects

In 1971, Moe moved to Phoenix, Arizona. She lived there with her husband and children. She played drums in a band called Paris 1942. In the early 1980s, she moved to Douglas, Georgia. She worked at a store there. She quit her job in 1989. This was to go on tour in Europe with the band Half Japanese.

Moe started recording and touring again. She released several albums on small, independent record labels. She sang and played guitar, leading her own band. Sometimes, her band included her former Velvet Underground bandmate, Sterling Morrison.

Moe also played on and produced other artists' records. She produced Fire in the Sky (1992) for Half Japanese. Their guitarist, John Sluggett, played drums on Moe's own albums. She also appeared with Lou Reed and John Cale on their albums.

In 1999, Moe played drums and produced an album for Charles Douglas. She also played bass drum, wrote songs, and sang with the band the Kropotkins. In a 2010 interview, Moe said she had stopped making music a few years before.

Personal Life

Moe Tucker got married in the early 1970s. She later divorced in the early 1980s. She has five children: Kerry, Keith, Austen, Kate, and Richard. Moe lives in Douglas, Georgia, where she raised her family.

In 2009, Moe Tucker shared her political views. She said she supports the Republican Party. She also supported the Tea Party movement.

Backup Band

Moe Tucker's backup band members included:

• John Sluggett
• Sonny Vincent
• Victor DeLorenzo
• Hank Beckmeyer
• Tico Zamora
• Lance Cagle
• Daniel Hutchens
• Daniel Fullerton

Discography

Studio Albums

Solo Albums

With the Velvet Underground

• The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
• White Light/White Heat (1968)
• The Velvet Underground (1969)
• Loaded (1970)

With Half Japanese

• Fire in the Sky (1993)

Live Albums

Compilation Albums

Extended Plays (EPs)

Singles

As lead artist

Other Appearances

• Charlie Pickett – Route 33 (1986)
• Lou Reed – New York (1989)
• Shotgun Rationale – Who Do They Think They Are? (1992)
• Shotgun Rationale – Roller Coaster (1993)
• John Cale – Antártida (1995)
• John Cale – Walking on Locusts (1996)
• John Cale – Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films by Andy Warhol (1997)
• Magnet – "Don't be a Penguin" (1997)
• Charles Douglas – "The Lives of Charles Douglas" (1999)
• Bloodkin – "Out of State Plates" (1999)
• The Kropotkins – Five Points Crawl (2000)
• The Raveonettes – Pretty in Black (2005)

See Also

In Spanish: Maureen Tucker para niños