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 atte ...

singer and songwriter, who had three hits on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in the 1970s.

Biography

Born in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

and raised in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, 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 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 Dorothy Moore (born October 13, 1946) is an American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue". Career Moore's parents were Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Senior. Her father performed under the stage name Melv ...

, 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 Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

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', record ...

. In 1972 he started recording for KoKo Records, 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'' 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 Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, ...

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 Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

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 ...

, Isaac Hayes,

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...

and others. He continued to perform in clubs and to record for small

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated ...

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. 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