Tony Thompson (
November
15,
1954 –
November
12,
2003) was a
session drummer best known as a member of
Chic. He was raised in the middle-class
community of Springfield Gardens, in Queens, NY.
Musical career
Chic
Thompson,
whose mother was Trinidadian
and father was Antiguan
descent,
first drummed for the 1970s group LaBelle,
and then for a short while was a member, with Raymond Jones, of the
soul/disco band Ecstasy
Passion & Pain. This was followed by a long tenure
with the legendary R&B/dance/disco band
Chic, where he helped create hits such as "Dance
Dance Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," "Le Freak," and "Good
Times". He also performed with members of Chic on "We Are Family"
and "He's The Greatest Dancer" by
Sister
Sledge and "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out" by
Diana Ross.
Following the temporary disbanding of Chic in 1983, Chic's former
guitarist and bassist,
Nile Rodgers and
Bernard Edwards became prolific
producers, and Thompson's drumming was much in demand among their
clients. Thompson appeared with numerous artists such as
Jody Watley,
Madonna (on her 1984 album
Like A
Virgin),
Rod Stewart,
Robert Palmer,
Mick Jagger, and
David
Bowie (on his 1983
Let's Dance album and subsequent
Serious Moonlight tour).
Other bands
Thompson was also a full-fledged member of the band
Power Station along with
Robert Palmer and
John and
Andy Taylor of
Duran Duran.
The enormous Live Aid
charity benefit concert in 1985 saw
Thompson playing with the Power Station as well as joining the
remaining members of Led Zeppelin on
stage (along with Phil Collins) at
John F. Kennedy
Stadium
. During a reunion attempt in 1986, Led
Zeppelin again asked Thompson to join them as a replacement for
John Bonham; the reunion stalled in part
because Thompson was in a serious car accident that year and was
unable to continue participating.
Thompson would go on to join groups such as
The Distance and
Crown Of Thorns with
Jean Beauvoir (playing on their first album
Crown Of Thorns before leaving the band and subsequently
replaced by
Hawk Lopez). In the mid 1990s
he rejoined Power Station for their 1996 reunion album
Living
In Fear and subsequent tour.
Thompson was also bass guitarist in New York City founded band That
Hideous Strength before his death.
Death and Legacy
Thompson died within a month of being diagnosed with
renal cell carcinoma (
kidney cancer) on November 12,
2003, in Los Angeles, just two months after bandmate Palmer's death
from a heart attack. Thompson was a member of the band Non-Toxic at
the time of his death.
On September 19, 2005 Tony and the rest of the Chic band members
were inducted into the
Dance
Music Hall of Fame.
References
External links
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