Tommy Keene (born Thomas Clay Keene; June 30, 1958 – November 22, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critically acclaimed rock & roll/

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

songs in the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of

Education

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

-born Keene was raised in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. He graduated in 1976 from

Walter Johnson High School Walter Johnson High School (also known as Walter Johnson or WJ) is a public upper secondary school located in the census-designated place of North Bethesda, Maryland ( Bethesda postal address).Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

, who went on to play and record with

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. Keene played drums in one version of Lofgren's early bands. Keene then attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

Musical career

Keene first received critical acclaim with the pioneering Washington, D.C. rock band The Razz, who released several local independent singles. His 1984 EP ''Places That Are Gone'' became one of the year's top selling independent releases. That same year, ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...

'' dubbed Keene "one of the best pop songwriters anywhere." ''Places That Are Gone'' garnered a four-star review in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', and was voted the No. 1 EP in the following year's ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

Poll. Keene recorded and released numerous albums on such labels as Dolphin, Geffen and

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apar ...

. He worked with producers

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...

, Don Dixon, and

R. Walt Vincent R. Walt Vincent is a Los Angeles-based record producer, recording engineer, composer, and multi instrumentalist known for his work with indie rock icons Pete Yorn, Liz Phair and Tommy Keene. Grandson of recording pioneer George Robert Vincent, fo ...

. He continued to record and tour and released an album with Robert Pollard, of Guided by Voices, as 'The Keene Brothers.' He was also a member of Pollard's live backing band "The Ascended Masters" also featuring Jon Wurster, Jason Narducy, and Dave Phillips. As well, he toured as an additional guitar player in Pollard's Boston Spaceships. Keene also played guitar on the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, ...

' hit song, "

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

", on their 1998 album, ''

Dizzy Up The Girl ''Dizzy Up the Girl'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, released on September 22, 1998 through Warner Bros. Records. The album is often noted for being the album which propelled the Goo Goo Dolls into success, ...

''. In 2011, Keene released his ninth original studio album, ''Behind The Parade'' on

Second Motion Records Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum (who released two albums on Atlantic R ...

. This was the fourth release working with Second Motion's founder Stephen Judge. Judge had released Keene's 2010 two-disc retrospective ''Tommy Keene: You Hear Me'' and his previous release, ''Crashing The Ether''. Keene's 2006 release

Eleven Thirty Records Eleven Thirty Records is an indie label based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and owned by RedEye Distribution. Co-founded in 2004 by A&R Director Stephen Judge and Redeye and Yep Roc Records co-owner Glenn Dicker, the label has released album ...

was released while Judge was A&R Director and general manager at

Redeye Distribution Redeye Distribution, is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1996 by Tor Hansen, Kim Hansen, Glenn Dicker. The label focuses on independent music. History Redeye is represe ...

Death

Keene died in his sleep on November 22, 2017, at the age of 59 due to cardiac arrest.

Discography

Albums

*'' Strange Alliance'' (1982, Avenue) *'' Songs from the Film'' (1986, Geffen) U.S. No. 148 *''

Based on Happy Times ''Based on Happy Times'' is an album by the American musician Tommy Keene, released in 1989. Critical reception ''The Washington Post'' called the album "a pleasant, tuneful collection of songs in Keene's familiar wistful mode." ''Montreal Gazett ...

'' (1989, Geffen) *''

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Billboar ...

'' (1996,

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

) *'' Isolation Party'' (1998, Matador) *''

The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin and published by Harms Inc., New York. It is best known as the theme tune for the ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon series and ''Merrie Melodies'' reissued cartoon ...

'' (2002,

spinART SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Black Francis, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART ...

) *'' Crashing the Ether'' (2006, Eleven Thirty) *'' In the Late Bright'' (2009,

) *'' Behind the Parade'' (2011, Second Motion Records) *''Excitement at Your Feet'' (2013, Second Motion Records) *''Laugh in the Dark'' (2015, Second Motion Records)

Compilation albums

*'' The Real Underground'' (1993,

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

) *''Driving into the Sun'' (1994, Alias) *'' Drowning—A Tommy Keene Miscellany'' (2004, Not Lame) *'' Tommy Keene You Hear Me: A Retrospective - 1983-2009'' (2010, Second Motion Records)

Live albums

*''

Showtunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

'' (2001, Self Released) *''

Showtunes II A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

'' (2016, Self Released)

EPs

*''Places That Are Gone'' (1984, Dolphin) *''Back Again (Try...)'' (1984, Dolphin) *''Run Now'' (1986, Geffen) *'' Sleeping on a Roller Coaster'' (1992, Matador)

References

External links

* * *
"It's Peachy for Keene: Musician's Musician Tommy Keene Releases a New CD of Irresistible Pop. and as a Bonus, He Comes Out" by Reighley, Kurt B. – The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine), May 9, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keene, Tommy 1958 births 2017 deaths American rock musicians American rock singers American male singers Power pop musicians People from Bethesda, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni SpinART Records artists Matador Records artists Geffen Records artists Parasol Records artists Second Motion Records artists