American guitarist and songwriter (born 1954)
This article is about the blues guitarist. For the heavy metal guitarist, see
Mick Thomson
.
Musical artist
Michael Thompson
(born
Michael Wood Thompson
, February 11, 1954 in
Port Washington, New York
) is an American guitarist and songwriter.
Thompson is known for his work as a session guitarist during the last 4 decades. He founded the rock group TRW in 2007.
Early years
[
edit
]
Michael Thompson grew up in
Port Washington, New York
and attended
Berklee College of Music
for two years, studying with
Pat Metheny
[1]
before leaving to tour and record with a local R&B/funk group called The
Ellis Hall
Group. After four years with the group, Thompson moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of starting a career as a studio musician, almost immediately getting a touring gig with
Joe Cocker
. Money was tight and to support himself and his wife Gloria, Thompson supplemented gigs playing on songwriters'
publishing
demos
and sporadic session work with a job as a
cab driver
until landing a year-long world tour with
Cher
.
[1]
Following the tour, Thompson played guitar for the TV series
Fame
, a gig he would hold for four years, and started his own band, Slang.
[2]
In 1983, he was invited by
Andy Fraser
, formerly of
Free
, to be the guitarist on his album
Fine Fine Line
, for
Island Records
(1984).
[3]
The Michael Thompson Band
[
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]
In 1988, Thompson finally landed a record deal for an album of his own, with
Geffen Records
. The eponymous Michael Thompson Band (also known by its initial logo, MTB), featuring lead vocals by Moon Calhoun, released the album
How Long
[4]
in 1989 and had a
Billboard
chart hit that year with the single "Can't Miss". The single hit #33 on the
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks
chart.
[4]
Other musicians on the album included
Toto
singer
Bobby Kimball
and ex-
Kansas
singer
John Elefante
on background vocals and
John Keane
,
Terry Bozzio
(
Frank Zappa
and
Missing Persons
) and
Pat Torpey
(
Mr. Big
) on drums.
Later work
[
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]
Thompson played on the
eponymous debut album
by the commercial
fusion
act
Animal Logic
, the brainchild of
Police
drummer
Stewart Copeland
and bassist
Stanley Clarke
. Thompson shared guitar duties with
Peter Haycock
(
Climax Blues Band
) and
Steve Howe
(
Yes
,
Asia
,
GTR
). Clarke and Copeland both went on to successful careers composing film scores for which they continued to tap Thompson for guitar work, and he has also worked on film scores by
Hans Zimmer
,
James Newton Howard
and
Randy Edelman
.
Just as Thompson's session career was hitting its stride, 1980s studio guitar staple
Dann Huff
left L.A. for
Nashville
and put out the word that producers and contractors who wanted him should instead call Michael Thompson.
[1]
Thanks to the studio engineer
Humberto Gatica
's suggestion, Thompson began what would become a decade-long hit-laden association with producer/songwriter
David Foster
, including a number of Celine Dion records, beginning with "
The Power of Love
".
[1]
It was during another Dion session for Foster in 1995 that R&B singer/songwriter/producer
Babyface
heard him through the wall of the studio and invited him to play on the project he was there for, the #1
Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album
for
Whitney Houston
.
[1]
Babyface, too, would frequently use Thompson throughout the 1990s, including on the huge hit "
Change the World
" with
Eric Clapton
and Babyface's own hit single, "
Every Time I Close My Eyes
". Thompson was in Babyface's live band for the
MTV
special, album and DVD
Babyface: MTV Unplugged NYC 1997
.
Quincy Jones
invited Thompson to be a guest on his 1995 album
Q's Jook Joint
. The following year Thompson released his first solo album,
The World According to M.T.
The album featured compositions by Thompson; a collaboration with Jeff Paris, who had guested on
How Long
; and a song written by another
How Long
collaborator,
Mark Spiro
. A cover of a
Sam Cooke
song, "
A Change is Gonna Come
", featuring
Bobby Womack
on vocals, peaked at #2 on the
Billboard
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
.
[5]
Thompson's abilities and sensibilities are so trusted that
BT
magazine noted in its 2001 "Platinum Touch" cover story on Thompson that "These days, many artists and producers just drop their tapes off at Thompson's home studio and let him add whatever he wants. It is a convenient, low-pressure way to work, but Thompson says he still loves to interact with other musicians at the big studios."
[1]
In 2001 Thompson was awarded the "Distinguished Alumni" award from his alma mater Berklee College of Music to commemorate his contributions to the music industry. Berklee's program for the event noted that "he is widely regarded as being among the elite studio session players, and his list of credits includes such prominent names as
Michael Jackson
,
Whitney Houston
,
Celine Dion
,
'N Sync
,
Toni Braxton
,
Phil Collins
,
Rod Stewart
,
Joe Sample
,
the Scorpions
,
Vince Neil
,
Christina Aguilera
,
Michael Bolton
,
Thalia
,
Mariah Carey
,
Bette Midler
,
Madonna
,
BabyFace
,
En Vogue
,
Gloria Estefan
, Stanley Clarke, and
Ricky Martin
."
[6]
Robert John "Mutt" Lange
worked with Thompson on
Shania Twain
's album
Up!
(2003). Here Mutt and Twain flew down to Milano to collaborate, as Thompson was working on recording with an Italian artist at the time. According to Thompson he first played on 7 tracks in Italy, and later Mutt asked him to come to Hawaii to play on most of the remaining tracks as well.
In 2007, Thompson revisited his late-1980s melodic rock heyday with two projects. He recorded three new songs for a remastered re-release of Michael Thompson Band's
How Long
, released in the summer of that year. He also formed a new band, TRW, with Mark Williamson on vocals and bass and
John Robinson
on drums. The group released the album
Rivers of Paradise
(2007).
Discography
[
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]
Solo
- The World According to M.T.
(1998)
- M.T. Speaks
(2005)
Michael Thompson Band
- How Long
(1989)
- How Long
(2007, Remastered with 3 Bonus Tracks)
- Future Past
(2012)
- Love & Beyond
(2019)
- High Times - Live In Italy
(2020, Live CD/DVD)
- The Love Goes On
(2023)
[7]
TRW (Thompson, Robinson, Williamson)
- Rivers of Paradise
(2007)
As sideman
[
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]
Film and TV scores
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Small, Mark L.
"Platinum Touch"
. Berklee College of Music
. Retrieved
June 18,
2009
.
- ^
Thompson, Michael.
"Bio page at Michael Thompson's official website"
. Archived from
the original
on April 27, 2011
. Retrieved
June 18,
2009
.
- ^
"Credits for
Fine, Fine Line
"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
June 18,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"Michael Thompson Band - How Long (CD, Album) at Discogs"
.
Discogs
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-05-05
. Retrieved
2015-02-14
.
- ^
[1]
[
dead link
]
- ^
Gordon, Peter.
"Alum Notes: L.A. Newsbriefs"
. Berklee College of Music
. Retrieved
June 18,
2009
.
- ^
"MICHAEL THOMPSON BAND - the Love Goes on - CD Jewelcase"
.
External links
[
edit
]
Michael Thompson at AllMusic
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