From the days when he couldn't read a note of music to today, church organist and accomplished musician Rodney Tucker has come a long way -- but then, as a nephew of the famed Talbot Brothers, and with a grandmother and mother who were both organists before him, he could hardly escape the musical genes that are his heritage.

Yet, for all his success, Mr. Tucker remains a modest man who speaks of his achievements matter-of-factly.

"Everybody says I must have been gifted,'' he offers.

"You are gifted,'' his devoted wife Wynette insists.

Certainly his long track record proves that he was no run-of-the-mill amateur, but someone for whom music was a destiny.

The Rodney Tucker story begins in "Talbot country,'' -- an area of Smith's Parish opposite Marsden Methodist Church, where he still resides.

Growing up on Talbot Lane, young Rodney attended Talbot elementary school, where Mrs. Marjorie Trott was the headmistress.

Like the rest of his family, and his ancestors before him, Rodney was also a regular attendant at Marsden, and before he could read a note of music, he was playing the church organ by ear. He would listen to his mother Mearl -- who was the church organist -- rehearse hymns on the piano at home, and then go to church and play them on the little pedal organ when she wasn't available.

In theory, the scheme should have worked well, but real life isn't always that simple. Just 14 or 15 years old, Rodney's playing relied on the minister sticking to the "script.'' "I ran into a problem if he changed the hymns,'' he smiles. "Since I didn't read a single note of music I would sit there like a dummy. After I was embarrassed a couple of times I decided to learn music by notes, so I got a music book and I think I had four lessons from Mrs. Trott. All the rest was reading about music and asking my mother questions.'' Later on, he would take lessons from Mr. Joseph Richards, the music teacher at Berkeley Institute, who gave many of Bermuda's musicians their start.

As an adult, in what seems to be a pattern in Mr. Tucker's life, his route to becoming a sought-after and full-time church organist was indirect.

It was while working at the United States Air Force Base here, where he was in charge of the barber shops, that Mr. Tucker was asked if he could "help out'' in the Base chapel one Christmas.

"I stayed as organist and choir master for 20 years,'' he smiles. "The chapel had a Hammond organ, which is where I learned to use the bass pedals.

For the first time, I didn't have to pump the organ, like I did at Marsden.'' As if being organist at the Base and organist/choir master at Marsden were not enough, the popular Mr. Tucker also added the Peace Lutheran Church to his list of Sunday commitments.

How did he manage all three? "The Base service was at 9.30 a.m., Peace Lutheran was at 11 a.m., and Marsden was at 3 p.m.,'' he explains.

In addition to all the Sunday services, of course, Mr. Tucker had to conduct choir rehearsals.

Then came the advertisement for an organist and choir master at Wesley Methodist Church in Hamilton.

"I never considered applying, but many Bermudians who had heard me play admired my rhythm and hymn playing, and some ladies at both Marsden and Wesley insisted that I apply, so I did.'' Call it women's intuition or what you will, but 30 years later, Mr. Tucker is still at Wesley -- a milestone which the congregation will mark on Sunday, March 5 with a special sacred concert in his honour at 3.30 p.m., during which five fellow organists will play.

But then Mr. Tucker is no more a stranger to honours than he is to decades-long posts as organist and choirmaster. A silver bowl marks the end of 20 years service at the US Base, and memories of a special dinner at the Pink Beach Club recall the Marsden congregation's appreciation of his 50 years service at their church.

Naturally, over the years Mr. Tucker has seen it all as an organist -- happy times, sad times, late brides, squalling babies and more, and he also notes a growing change in church music from his own preferences.

"At one time, every potential choir member was auditioned, but today you work with whoever volunteers. Also, many churches are replacing solo pipe organs with combinations of electronic organs and drums, for example, in an effort to attract the young,'' he says. "They have a wild time.'' Which is not to suggest that Mr. Tucker hasn't seen a "wilder'' musical side himself, for in addition to his roles as a church organist, he is also a accomplished pianist and singer, and spent many years performing on the hotel circuit as a member of the Talbot Nephews.

How he got his start in secular music goes back to his teen years, when his uncle Roy, one of the famed Talbot Brothers, entered his name in a Island-wide talent contest without his knowledge.

"It was sponsored by Colonial Airlines and held at the Colonial Opera House, and about 50 to 60 teens took part,'' Mr. Tucker remembers. "I was in the finals, and they whittled it down to two -- myself and a girl. The judges couldn't make up their minds which of us should win, so they decided to do it on applause. The girl was well known around the Island and I was from the country, so that didn't work too well. In the end, they gave us both the first prize, which was to entertain at one of the hotels, and I started at Harmony Hall.

"I used to play the piano and sing, which is almost why they gave me the first prize over the girl because she could only sing. I was just 17 years old.'' Word of his talent soon got around, and he was invited by the manager of Hamilton's Imperial Hotel to get a group together to play there.

Mr. Tucker had only to look within his family circle to find what he needed: a bass in brother Ryan, and a guitarist in cousin Manders Talbot. Thus was born The Talbot Nephews, who would later be joined by another cousin, Onslow Grant on drums.

"We all used to sing, and we had a show,'' Mr. Tucker remembers.

Music is the key to life for Rodney also taught the tourists how to do that.

The group's long list of gigs included the newly-opened Lantana Colony Club and most of the Island's hotels, and when the Talbot Brothers went abroad on their annual tour, the Talbot Nephews filled for them. They were also invited to "open'' a new country club in Bristol, Connecticut.

In addition Rodney Tucker played solo piano in the cocktail lounge of the Elbow Beach hotel.

Years later, when Archie and Austin Talbot died, so too did the group known as The Talbot Nephews, whose members merged with the remaining Talbot Brothers.

"We merged before they talked about mergers,'' Mr. Tucker smiles.

Married to the former Wynette Burch of St. George's and the devoted father of two young sons, Craig and Gil, Mr. Tucker eventually found his hectic schedule of working at the Base during the day, playing the hotel circuit at night, and at three churches on Sundays seriously impinged on his love of family life.

Thus it was that he gave up the entertainment scene -- but not the memories.

In addition to the Bermuda Government's citation "for all the contributions to local entertainment and unique achievement as an ambassador of goodwill, both in Bermuda and abroad'' as a member of the Talbot Brothers, Mr. Tucker still recalls other events related to those years.

At Cromwell (Mandy) Talbot's funeral, he fulfilled his uncle's wish and played Yellow Bird on the organ. Similarly, at uncle Dick Talbot's funeral he obliged with Loose Me Now.

Mr. Tucker also played Yellow Bird in Bristol, Connecticut's Methodist Cathedral at the funeral of close family friend, Jim Sessions, whom Mr. Tucker had met at the Inverurie Hotel way back in his bachelor days, and at whose daughter's wedding the talented Bermudian had also sung.

"From the time we met, Jim's family and ours always travelled to the highlights of each other's lives, and he left it in his Will that I was to play his favourite calypso at his funeral,'' the organist relates. "In fact, there were so many people there who had been to Bermuda that when they heard Yellow Bird they didn't want to go home!'' While music has been a constant thread woven through Rodney Tucker's rich and busy life, it is by no means his only skill. Although officially retired as a barber, he still cuts his sons' hair, and is a splendid cook whose specialty is bread-making.

From the home which his grandmother built after she was "evicted'' from Tucker's Town along with many of his forebears, the sounds of hymns, classical music, and old standards are regularly heard as Mr. Tucker guides his expert fingers over the keys of his beloved Steinway upright piano -- a gift from his sons when he retired from the Base.

The set of golf clubs they also gave him, however, has yet to see a blade of grass.

"But they will -- one day,'' the grandfather of four promises.

Meanwhile, there are those Sunday commitments to fulfill -- at Marsden, where both sons are trustees and Craig sings in the choir, and also at Wesley.

Looking back over his musical career, he says: "I have enjoyed all the other things, but my greatest love is the organ and church music. That has been my forte, and choral music just gives me goose pimples.''