The Derek Trucks Band was founded by Trucks in 1994, with the introduction of Todd Smallie, an Atlanta jazz and blues-based musician playing
bass guitar. The next year, in 1995, Smallie was followed by
drummer Yonrico Scott, who initially filled the role of
percussionist, as well as drummer, completing the band's first cohesive
rhythm section. in addition to his songwriting. Burbridge joined the band in 1999. Mattison has collaborated with Trucks writing songs, on each album since joining the band, including the title track to the band's 2008 album,
Already Free. Mattison had a previous band as well—a
vocal duo, called
Scrapomatic, with guitarist/vocalist Paul Olsen, with whom he still performs at occasional gigs, including some opening sets for The Derek Trucks Band. The band's final member,
Count M'Butu was the only band member that did not appear on every tour. M'Butu, the group's eldest member, played a variety of drums and percussion. Trucks and Scott both have known him for decades, before he joined the Derek Trucks Band, as M'Butu was a regular musical fixture in Atlanta; one of the bastions of the Allman Brothers fan bases. Thus, as of early 2009, M'Butu was the eldest member of the band, which has members whose ages are in their 20s, 30s 40s 50s and 60s. M'Butu has a great deal of African influence in his work, but lived in
Sandersville, Georgia most of his life, "so he's got that Southern thing, too", Trucks concluded. His differing influences are compatible with the band's
world music sound. The band's album,
Already Free, won the
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the
52nd Grammy Awards. That summer they released their live album,
Roadsongs. In 2011, the band got a
Blues Music Award as Band of the Year. The Derek Trucks Band would occasionally play together with the band of Trucks' wife,
Susan Tedeschi, in a collective known as "Soul Stew Revival". This allowed the couple to spend more time with each other when they would otherwise both be out on the road separately. Trucks and Tedeschi formed a new group called the
Tedeschi Trucks Band, with Mike Mattison and Kofi Burbridge both joining from the Derek Trucks Band. As a result, the Derek Trucks Band has been on hiatus since 2010. Kofi Burbridge and Yonrico Scott both died in 2019. Count M'Butu died in 2021. ==Personnel==