Tiger Tiger

Tiger Tiger forged a uniquely mystical strain of contemporary folk by drawing upon the customs of their Native American lineage together with the evocative atmosphere of Florida’s native Everglades. Sons of Miccosukee Tribe chairman Buffalo Tiger, brothers Lee and Stephen Tiger first encountered rock & roll as teenagers, performing in Miami-area garage outfits such as the Renegades and briefly joining an early lineup of NRBQ.

The siblings launched Sun Country in early 1968 and swiftly gained attention when they performed at the inaugural Miami Pop Festival that May alongside the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, and Procol Harum. After a stay in New York City, the group traveled the West Coast in 1969, appearing at the Whisky-a-Go-Go and supporting Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.

Signed to Bernard Stollman’s storied ESP label, Sun Country released its self-titled debut LP in 1969. Weak sales contributed to the band’s dissolution by 1972, after which the Tiger brothers formed a new project called Tiger Tiger, a name proposed by RCA Studios engineer Bob Ferguson.

Though the act maintained regular performances across south Florida for more than a decade, its first album, Space Age Indian, did not appear until 1994. Later releases included Dream Scout in 1996 and Southern Exposure in 2000. In mid-2006 the ensemble received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Music Association.

While preparing the album Native to This Country for release, Stephen Tiger died following a fall at his Miami residence on June 27, 2006, at age 57. Lee Tiger pledged to sustain touring under the Tiger Tiger name, adding Stephen’s son Joey and guitarist Mike Pinera, formerly of Blues Image and Alice Cooper, to complete the lineup.