Tom Verlaine

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Tom Verlaine (* 13. December 1949 in Wilmington , Delaware as Thomas Miller ) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter . He became known as the frontman of the New York rock band Television .

biography

As an adolescent, Tom Miller had a keen interest in music and poetry. He had piano and saxophone lessons. After listening to the Rolling Stones' 19th Nervous Breakdown , he started playing guitar.

In 1968 he went to New York with his school friend, bassist Richard Meyers, who later called himself Richard Hell . Together with drummer Billy Ficca, they founded the band The Neon Boys in 1972 . Miller adopted the stage name Tom Verlaine, a tribute to the French poet Paul Verlaine .

With Richard Lloyd as the second guitarist, the group called itself Television from 1973 . They were one of the leading bands on the New York underground scene, including as a house band in the legendary CBGB club . After two albums, however, they broke up in 1978 and Verlaine began a solo career.

In 1979 his first solo album was released, which was to be followed by quite a few. In the 1990s there was a reunion of Television , in 1992 their third studio album was released. After that the band gave sporadic appearances. Verlaine worked again with Patti Smith , with whom he had lived and worked in the 1970s. He wrote the music for the film Love and a .45 .

Over the years, Tom Verlaine has worked with numerous musicians. He was also a member of The Million Dollar Bashers , which recorded some of the music for the film I'm Not There .

In 2011, the Rolling Stone listed Verlaine as 90th of the 100 best guitarists of all time . In a list from 2003 he was ranked 56th.

Discography

For the recordings with television see there.

For the recordings of the Million Dollar Bashers, see I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack .

Solo albums

  • 1979: Tom Verlaine
  • 1981: Dreamtime
  • 1982: Words from the Front
  • 1984: Cover
  • 1987: Flash Light
  • 1990: The Wonder
  • 1992: Warm and Cool (new edition 2005)
  • 1996: The Miller's Tale: A Tom Verlaine Anthology
  • 2006: Songs and Other Things
  • 2006: Around

Singles

  • 1981: Always
  • 1982: Postcard from Waterloo
  • 1984: Let Go the Mansion
  • 1984: Five Miles of You
  • 1987: A Town Called Walker
  • 1987: Cry Mercy, Judge
  • 1987: The Funniest Thing
  • 1989: Shimmer
  • 1990: Kaleidoscopin

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d See web links.
  2. 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 18, 2015, accessed August 8, 2017 .
  3. 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time - David Fricke's Picks. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 .