Michael Thompson (guitarist)

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This article is about the blues guitarist. For the heavy metal guitarist, see Mick Thomson.
Michael Thompson
Birth nameMichael Wood Thompson
Born (1954-02-11) February 11, 1954 (age 70)
Frontiers

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

Michael Thompson grew up in

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

In 1988, Thompson finally landed a record deal for an album of his own, with

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

Thompson played on the

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

Babyface: MTV Unplugged NYC 1997
.

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

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

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

Film and TV scores

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Small, Mark L. "Platinum Touch". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  2. ^ Thompson, Michael. "Bio page at Michael Thompson's official website". Archived from the original on April 27, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  3. ^ "Credits for Fine, Fine Line". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Michael Thompson Band - How Long (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  5. ^ [1] [dead link]
  6. ^ Gordon, Peter. "Alum Notes: L.A. Newsbriefs". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  7. ^ "MICHAEL THOMPSON BAND - the Love Goes on - CD Jewelcase".

External links

Michael Thompson at AllMusic

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