C.T. Tucker (Born Christopher Harshorne)
DOB Unknown – January 19, 2010

Photo by Alison Goessling

C.T. Tucker was a popular northwestern New Jersey R&B band leader and restaurateur.  His band, Blue Sparks From Hell, formed in 1977 and played upwards of 250 shows a year while occasionally sharing the bill with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mel Tillis, Doc Watson, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters.  The band was a local favorite thanks to its lively shows that incorporated blues, R&B and swing.  During the ’90s, Tucker opened Tucker’s Breakfast King which served breakfast and lunch during the day, and then re-opened as a venue in the evenings.  Acts such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Loudon Wainwright III graced its stage.   In later years, Tucker and his wife ran an animal casting business which provided critters for film and television.  On January 19, 2010, C.T. Tucker died of lymphoma at the age of 57.

Thanks to Diane Schaer for the assist.