Thomas Joseph Finn (November 21, 1948 – June 27, 2020) was an American musician and DJ. He was a founding member of the 1960s baroque pop group

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, " Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroq ...

, on bass and vocals.

Early career

Finn was a founder member of The Left Banke in 1965, alongside Michael Brown,

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

, George Cameron and Warren David-Schierhorst. After initial success with the songs "

Walk Away Renée "Walk Away Renée" is a song written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone for the band the Left Banke, released as a single in July 1966. Steve Martin Caro is featured on lead vocals. It spent 13 weeks on the US charts, with a top s ...

" and "

Pretty Ballerina "Pretty Ballerina" is a song written by pianist Michael Brown that was released as a single by his band the Left Banke in December 1966. It peaked at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 4 on the Canadian '' RPM'' chart. The ...

", the group split up, though Finn was involved in later reformations of the band.

Later career

After the Left Banke disbanded, Finn went on to become an engineer at

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

, as well as working with

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques a ...

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

at Rich's night club Buddy's Place as stage manager and MC. In 1982, Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell convinced Finn to try his hand as a DJ. This led to Finn working at NY clubs such as The Palladium, The Red Zone, and Au Bar. In the 1990s Finn began working as a DJ for private events, resulting in his own company, Topspin Entertainment. Finn was the DJ for the White House Millennium Gala, hosted by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. In 2006, he appeared in the November issue of '' Town & Country'' magazine in a five-page spread called "The Party Masters". Finn was featured in a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (December 16, 2006) article "The D.J. Who Moves the Movers and Shakers".

Death

Finn died on June 27, 2020, after a period of ill health. "The Left Banke’s Tom Finn is 2nd Member to Die in 2020", ''Best Classic Bands''
Retrieved 29 June 2020

References

External links

DJ Tom Finn
* American rock musicians DJs from New York City 2020 deaths 1948 births Musicians from New York City {{US-DJ-stub