Thomas Lee Tate (September 29, 1945 – January 20, 2017), known as Tommy Tate, was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer and songwriter, who had three hits on the R&B chart in the 1970s.

Biography

Born in Homestead, Florida and raised in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, Tate began his career in his early teens as a drummer and singer. He made his first recordings on the Rise label in 1964.Biography by Ron Wynn, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved February 3, 2017 He recorded for several smaller labels during the 1960s, on many of which he was backed by the

Imperial Show Band The Imperial Show Band led by Tim Whitsett, was a popular musical group in the United States during the 1960s. The group is regarded as the first integrated band in the state of Mississippi. Early years In 1960, while still a student at Murrah Hi ...

led by

Tim Whitsett Tim Whitsett was an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was a founding member of the Imperial Show Band, a popular 1960s American musical group. Whitsett is the author of multiple non-fiction books ...

. He toured widely with the band, which also included singer Dorothy Moore, and after Moore left he became the band's featured vocalist.Tommy Tate: The Imperial Show Band Years, ''Locobop.com''
Retrieved February 3, 2017 After the band split up, Tate recorded for Stax Records in 1970 as a member of

The Nightingales Nightingales (a.k.a. The Nightingales) are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', recorde ...

. In 1972 he started recording for

KoKo Records Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...

, distributed by Stax, and had his first and biggest chart hit with "School of Life", produced by Johnny Baylor,"Soul singer Tommy Tate dies", ''SoulandJazzandFunk'', 28 January 2017
Retrieved February 3, 2017 which reached number 22 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B chart. He remained with KoKo for several years, and had two further minor chart hits in 1976, "Hardtimes S.O.S." (#62 R&B) and "If You Ain't Man Enough" (#93 R&B). In 1979, he joined Malaco Records and released the album ''Hold On''. A second album recorded at the Malaco studios, ''Tommy Tate'', was issued on the Juana label in 1981.Tommy Tate, ''discogs.com''
Retrieved February 3, 2017 Tate also wrote songs recorded by

Luther Ingram Luther Thomas Ingram (November 30, 1937 – March 19, 2007) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. His most successful record, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 3 ...

, Bobby Bland,

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor was ...

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

, Little Milton and others. He continued to perform in clubs and to record for small Southern soul labels, and released a third album, ''Love Me Now'', on the Ichiban subsidiary label, Urgent!, in 1990. His career ended in 2002 when he suffered a debilitating

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. In 2007,

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

issued a compilation of his work, ''The Complete KoKo Recordings And More''. Tommy Tate died in 2017 in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 71.

References

External links

Discography

''SoulExpress.net'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Tommy 1945 births 2017 deaths American soul musicians People from Homestead, Florida