Thomas Jay Hambridge (born December 20, 1960) is an American rock,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, and blues, producer, songwriter, musician and vocalist. Hambridge has received two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s, an ASCAP award, seven Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music Awards, and has been inducted into the Buffalo Hall of Fame. In December 2015, Tom was given the key to his hometown of

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

with Mayor

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the City's first African-American mayor and longest serving ...

declaring December 28 "Tom Hambridge Day." Hambridge's songs have been recorded by several notable artists and have been featured in movie productions, commercials and television programs. He has been referred to as "The White Willie Dixon" by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

and

Susan Tedeschi Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ and other musicians. Early l ...

's "Secret Weapon".

Biography

Born and raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, Hambridge began learning the drums at the age of 5. He played his first paying gig, a bar mitzvah, in third grade. Throughout his school years, Hambridge played in garage bands, his high school orchestra and jazz band. After graduating from high school in 1979, he received a scholarship at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Tom Hambridge Drums

He received his degree in Professional Music in 1983. After graduation, he worked for three years as drummer and lead singer for the blues guitarist

Roy Buchanan Leroy "Roy" Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and two lat ...

. While working with Buchanan, Hambridge contributed as a musician on Buchanan's release, ''Live: Amazing Grace''. In the meantime, he formed the band "T.H. and the Wreckage". In 1988, the band released ''Born to Rock,'' one of several independent, self-produced albums Hambridge has completed. ''Born To Rock'' was the first of the many

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyho ...

he has received. In the meantime, he assisted promoters assemble backup bands for artists such as

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, Gary Puckett, and

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

. Hambridge released his own album ''Still Running'' in 1996. In 1997, he produced

's ''

Just Won't Burn ''Just Won't Burn'' is second studio album by American blues artist Susan Tedeschi, released in 1998. This album had national success in 1998. Track listing #"Rock Me Right" ( Tom Hambridge) – 4:27 #"You Need to Be With Me" (Tedeschi) – 3: ...

''. Hambridge wrote Tedeschi's Top 10 hits "Rock Me Right" and "It Hurt So Bad". In the meantime, he also released his own album ''Balderdash'' in 2000. Hambridge received a subsequent 2004 Grammy nomination (

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album was awarded from 1988 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Contemporary Blues Performance and in 1989 was awarded to a song rather than to an album. The award was ...

) for his contributions on

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

's release ''I'm A Bluesman'' ("Cheatin' Blues" and "Lone Wolf"). Shortly thereafter, Hambridge released his album ''Bang N' Roll'' (2004) and the album ''Live'' (2007). In 2008, he received Grammy nominations (

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

) for his work on

's '' Skin Deep''. ''Skin Deep'' debuted at number 68 on the ''Billboard'' 200 which was the highest position of any of Guy's previous albums, and was number 1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. Hambridge released his own album ''Boogieman'' (2009). In 2011, he won the

for co-writing and producing

's album '' Living Proof''. He was credited as the producer, songwriter and percussionist for

George Thorogood and the Destroyers George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs " Bad to th ...

2011 release '' 2120 South Michigan Ave.'', which included the song "Going Back" that reached number 1 on Classic Rock Radio. Also in 2011, he wrote and produced B. B. King and

's duet "Stay Around A Little Longer." Other recognized 2011 successes include writing/co-writing all songs on Quinn Sullivan's release ''Cyclone'' (2011, number 7 on the Billboard Blues charts, July 30, 2011). Later in 2013, Hambridge would do the same on Quinn Sullivan's release "Getting There" which charted at 38 on the Billboard Blues Charts. In 2015, Hambridge earned his second

Grammy Award for Best Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Blues Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the blues genre. Honors in severa ...

for his contributions as a musician, producer, composer and mixer on

's Born to Play Guitar. In 2016, Hambridge produced

Mike Zito Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Woo ...

's album "Make Blues Not War" which debuted at number 1 on the

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

on December 10, 2016 and earned his seventh

Nomination for his production work on

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...

. Hambridge's songs and productions have appeared on a variety of television shows, movies and commercials. These include "It Hurt's So Bad" (

) on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's ''Austin City Limits'', ''Autumn Hearts'', VH1's ''Born To Diva'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Conan O'Brien'', and ''The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn''. In addition, "Rock Me Right" (Susan Tedeschi) appeared in ''Autumn Hearts'', ''

David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Back ...

'', ''NASCAR Rocks II'' (1999), and '' Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas''. "I Fell in Love" (Susan Tedeschi) appeared on the ''Bug'' soundtrack. Plus, "Road Trip" and "I Got A New Car" (Tom Hambridge) appeared in the movie ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

''. "Flying By" (

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

) appeared in the film, ''Flying By''. Hambridge has performed multiple times at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. On February 21, 2012, he joined

, Keb Mo,

Derek Trucks Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sin ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

BB King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shim ...

and others in a performance for the White House's "Red, White and Blues" Black History Month celebration concert. During the performance, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

provided a brief history of the Blues and accompanied the group during the song "

Sweet Home Chicago "Sweet Home Chicago" is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Although he is often credited as the songwriter, several songs have been identified as precedents. The song has become a popular anthem for the city of Chicago de ...

". On October 14, 2015, Hambridge returned to the

with

Marty Sammon Martin J. Sammon (October 14, 1977 – October 15, 2022) was an American blues keyboardist. He was recognized for his energetic performances, improvisation and mastery of traditional styles (ragtime and blues). Sammon has established himself as ...

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

, Keb Mo, Smokey Robinson and others for "A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Credits

;As leader ;As contributing artist

References

External links

*
Discography at ''Billboard'' MagazineASCAP – Tom Hambridge Registered Songs and Additional InformationAllMusic Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambridge, Tom 1960 births Living people American blues singers American country singer-songwriters American blues drummers Grammy Award winners Musicians from Buffalo, New York Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Berklee College of Music alumni Record producers from New York (state) 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Country musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters