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Tommy Taylor | |
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| Birth name | Tommy Taylor |
| Born | May 8, 1957 Denton, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, blues, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, guitar, percussion, vocals |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records |
| Website | www |
Tommy Taylor (born May 8, 1957) is an American musician, vocalist and songwriter, who is best known for being a touring and recording member with Christopher Cross and Eric Johnson.
Developing an infatuation with many types of music at a very early age, he quickly expanded his interests, exploring the playing of various musical instruments and singing. He acquired his first guitar at the age of eight in December 1965, discovering by chance, that he was also potentially quite adept at playing the drums, drumming became his primary objective.
By age eleven he was working professionally as a drummer, and by age thirteen, he was headlining the most prominent night spots in Austin, TX.
In 1977, Taylor landed the drummer/vocalist slot with the burgeoning original music group, Christopher Cross. [1] [2] [3] . His performances on Cross's classic debut LP, "Christopher Cross," helped garner 5 Grammy Awards in 1981, Including Album of The Year, along with a 5× Platinum Certification. [4] [5] Taylor also featured on two tracks on Cross' second album, Another Page . When touring the world, Christopher Cross opened for Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, and America, as well as headlining their own concert dates.
In 1984, Taylor began what would become a lifetime partnership with fellow Austin musician Eric Johnson. In 1988, Taylor played with Eric Johnson on the TV show, Austin City Limits , it has since become the most requested episode in 40-year history of the show, and subsequently became a CD/DVD release, along with Gold Certification. [4] Taylor has been featured on almost every single album of Johnson's as either a drummer, percussionist, vocalist, writer, or arranger. [6] Taylor is featured on the Grammy Award-winning [7] smash hit, "Cliffs of Dover" from the Platinum album Ah Via Musicom [4] among many of the studio performances over the years.
In 2018–2019, Taylor played a sold-out tour with Eric Johnson and Kyle Brock, re-playing the Ah Via Musicom album from cover to cover, along with new cuts from Johnson's record Collage. The tour featured a headline spot at 2019's Crossroads Guitar Festival, returning to the festival after 15 years. [8]
In 2020, Taylor was due to release a debut solo LP titled, Across The Stars. It is co-produced by Mark Hallman, and features Michael Omartian, Roscoe Beck, David Lee Holt, and Mark Andes among others. On October 15, 2022, Taylor released his debut single, "Summit", from his upcoming solo album. A follow up single "Across The Stars" was also released.
In 2023, Taylor released his third single, "Everybody's Gonna Let You Down". The Across The Stars album was released on September 22, 2023.
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist and composer. His 1990 album Ah Via Musicom was certified platinum by the RIAA, and the single "Cliffs of Dover" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
Ah Via Musicom is the second studio album by guitarist Eric Johnson, released in 1990 through Capitol Records. The album reached No. 67 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for 60 weeks. All four singles charted on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, with three of them being top 10 hits: "High Landrons" at No. 31, "Righteous" at No. 8, "Cliffs of Dover" at No. 5 and "Trademark" at No. 7. "Cliffs of Dover" went on to win the Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1992 Grammys.
Christopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's Theme " peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1981, while "Arthur's Theme" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981.
Christopher Cross is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released on December 20, 1979, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Michael Omartian and recorded in mid-1979, the album was one of the early digitally recorded albums, utilizing the 3M Digital Recording System.
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed and Dean Roland, Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), and Jesse Triplett. Formed in 1992, the original lineup consisted of the Roland brothers, Turpin, guitarist Ross Childress, and drummer Shane Evans. Collective Soul released their Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid album on the independent label Rising Storm Records in 1993. The band went from obscurity to popularity that year after the album's lead single "Shine" received regional radio play. The album was then re-released in 1994 by the major label Atlantic Records; thus, "Shine" became a national hit as it peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock and No. 4 on the Mainstream Top 40 charts.
Underoath is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tampa, including drummer, clean vocalist and last remaining core member Aaron Gillespie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, keyboardist Christopher Dudley, lead guitarist Timothy McTague, bassist Grant Brandell, and lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. Originally, the band identified as a Christian group; they have since distanced themselves from Christianity.
Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland. They were popular in North America during the 1980s.
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife duo John Cooper and Korey Cooper along with Jen Ledger and Seth Morrison. The band has released eleven studio albums, two of which, Collide and Comatose, received Grammy nominations. Two of their albums, Comatose and Awake, are certified Platinum and Double Platinum respectively by the RIAA, while Rise and Unleashed are certified Gold as of June 29, 2020. Four of their songs, "Monster", "Hero", "Awake and Alive", and "Feel Invincible", are certified Multi-Platinum, while another two, "Whispers in the Dark" and "Comatose", are certified Platinum, and another four, "Rebirthing", "Not Gonna Die", "The Last Night", and "The Resistance" are certified Gold.
Future Leaders of the World is a rock band formed in 2003. The band released their debut album, LVL IV in 2004, before going through a period of being named Machina, featuring former Evanescence members guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray. After a hiatus, the band reformed in 2014 and released another album under the "Future Leaders of the World" name, Reveal, in March 2015.
Venus Isle is the third studio album by guitarist Eric Johnson, released on September 3, 1996, through Capitol Records. The album reached No. 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200, the highest position in Johnson's career, and remained on that chart for six weeks. "Pavilion" was released as a single and reached No. 33 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, while its B-side "S.R.V." is a tribute to guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and features his elder brother Jimmie Vaughan as a guest soloist. "Camel's Night Out" is featured as downloadable content for the video game Guitar Hero World Tour (2008) and can also be exported to Guitar Hero 5 (2009).
Live from Austin, TX is Eric Johnson's first live album, released in November 2005. The album showcases Johnson's seminal 1988 performance at Austin City Limits. The performance included a number of songs from Ah Via Musicom before its release in 1990, the album that a few years later would launch Johnson to fame as well as a pair of Jimi Hendrix covers.
"Cliffs of Dover" is an instrumental composition by guitarist Eric Johnson which appeared on his 1990 Ah Via Musicom album although the song had frequently been played live by Johnson as early as 1984. The album version of the song is composed in the key of G major. The song was played with a Gibson ES-335 through a B. K. Butler Tube Driver and an Echoplex plugged into a 100-watt Marshall amplifier. The song takes its name from the White Cliffs of Dover, an extensive and visually stunning chalk outcrop that runs along the southeast coast of England. It is also featured on the video game Guitar Hero III and is available as DLC for the game Rocksmith 2014.
Armand "Mandy" Meyer is a Swiss guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' Horses and Katmandu.
Charles Roscoe Beck is an American bassist with a reputation as "a solid bottom-liner". Beck has played with artists like Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, Leonard Cohen, and The Dixie Chicks. He is also a successful record producer with two Grammy Award nominations.
Loren Gold is an American keyboardist, vocalist, music director, and songwriter. Gold is the keyboardist/backup vocalist for The Who, and keyboardist/vocalist for the band Chicago. In addition, Loren has been the touring keyboardist and backup vocalist for Roger Daltrey since 2009. Loren also performs with Rita Wilson and has toured regularly with Don Felder since 2009. Other artists he has toured with include Kenny Loggins, Natalie Maines, and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. Gold has been musical director for pop stars Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Hilary Duff, and he continues to build and develop bands for other artists. Gold has published two instructional books through his collaboration with Alfred Music, and his original compositions have been featured on HBO and Showtime.
Robert Gary Smith is an American musician and songwriter. He was a member of Chase and a founding member of Survivor. Smith has also performed or recorded with B.B. King, Joe Williams, Vic Damone, Patrick Leonard, Leslie West (Mountain), Steve Forman, Will Lee, Elliott Randall, Bobby Kimball, Tommy Shaw, Darryl Jones, Jim Peterik, John Gary, Bruce Gaitsch, Eric Miyashiro, Clark Terry, Chuck Findley, Larry Carlton, Jaco Pastorius and many others.
Brannen Temple is a 3 time Grammy Award winning American drummer, who is best known as a drummer for acts like Eric Burdon, Robben Ford, Lizz Wright, Eric Johnson, and currently Ruthie Foster.
Turnover is an American rock band from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formed in 2009, the band is signed with the Run for Cover Records label. Turnover has released five albums, two EPs and two singles
This is the discography for American rock musician Eric Johnson.