Corin Lisa Tucker (born November 9, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. Tucker is also a member of the alternative rock supergroup Filthy Friends, and previously recorded with the punk band Heavens to Betsy as well as The Corin Tucker Band. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Tucker at number 155 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Early life
Tucker was born in State College, Pennsylvania, and spent her childhood in Grand Forks, North Dakota. There, her father was a college professor and her mother was a medical technician. She began studying piano when she was twelve.
Career
Starting in 1991, Tucker has been a singer, guitarist, and songwriter in several rock bands.
Tucker is usually the front person and lead singer. One reviewer noted, "Her voice is enormous, with a natural swing--the sort of swing that neither Tina Turner nor Mick Jagger has ever had, the ability to take a note and ring it like a bell in a tower." Heavens to Betsy recorded a split single with Bratmobile, and several singles for independent record labels.
Sleater-Kinney
After Heavens to Betsy split in 1994, Tucker formed Sleater-Kinney with Excuse 17 member Carrie Brownstein and friend Lora McFarlane. Tucker wrote most of the lyrics, sang lead vocals, and played second guitar to Brownstein's lead, with the duo collaborating on music.
Cadallaca
While in Sleater-Kinney, Tucker worked on a side project, Cadallaca, with organist Sarah Dougher and drummer STS of The Lookers. They released an EP, Out West, on Kill Rock Stars in 2000. Unwound's Sara Lund and Golden Bear's' Circus Lupus and Seth Lorinczi assisted Tucker with this project which was dubbed The Corin Tucker Band. The album 1,000 Years was released on October 5, 2010, and was streamed via NPR. The album's eleven songs were different from other Tucker projects—many of the songs were slower folk and Americana, and Tucker played acoustic guitar. Tucker said the album is "definitely more of a middle-aged mom record, in a way. It's not a record that a young person would write... There's some sadness, some reinvention, some rebirth." Rolling Stone wrote, "She's not shredding the awesome vocal cords so much, but she gets fierce in other ways, trying on cellos and piano ballads. When she finally cranks it up Sleater-Kinney-style on 'Doubt,' it feels earned: a cry of self-determination, as inspiring as ever." The band toured on both U.S. coasts to support 1,000 Years, in addition to a few festival dates in other parts of the country. In an interview, Tucker said, "For this record, we really bonded, the four of us, being on tour and playing music together, so in writing this record, we all worked together in the practice space, writing these songs and just enjoying the writing process and everything that came out of it." However, another reviewer correctly predicted Kill My Blues "will inevitably go down as one of the most underrated albums of the year."
thumb|[[Filthy Friends (Tucker and Buck), 2017]]
Filthy Friends
Alt-rock "supergroup" Filthy Friends is another side project for Tucker, with Tucker on lead vocals and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck on guitar, along with other musician friends rounding out the band.
On Emerald Valley, she played Buck's Fender Musicmaster guitar.
Tucker has also dabbled in television and film. She appeared in two episodes of bandmate Carrie Brownstein's television show Portlandia, portraying a member of the fictional band Echo Echo. In addition, Portlandia was first filmed at Tucker's house and she was the camera crew.
Personal life
Tucker previously identified as a lesbian, but now identifies as bisexual. Tucker wrote the Sleater-Kinney song "One More Hour" about her breakup with Brownstein.
Tucker has been outspoken in her support of the pro-choice movement.
In 2012, she was also working in web development and interactive media for a health care company, where she also produced training and informational videos.
- Danelectro DC-59
Cadallaca
- Introducing Cadallaca (1998)