Thomas Robert Ardolino (January 12, 1955 – January 6, 2012) was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

drummer best known as a member of

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

(New Rhythm and Blues Quartet).

Biography

Tom Ardolino was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. A fan of the band, he began corresponding and trading tapes with keyboardist and co-founder Terry Adams. This led to him meeting and befriending the band. At one live show, when original NRBQ drummer Tom Staley did not return for an encore, Adams invited Ardolino to fill in. He performed well enough that when Staley left the band in 1974, his bandmates agreed that Ardolino was the natural choice as successor. Ardolino remained in the lineup until the band went on hiatus in 2004, returning for occasional performances with Adams, and contributing to solo recordings by Adams (''Rhythm Spell'' and ''Holy Tweet''), by NRBQ (''Keep This Love Going'' and ''We Travel the Spaceways'') and others (see Selected Discography). While

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

s were generally performed by other members of NRBQ,

live shows Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

often included a moment where Ardolino would take the

spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

and sing, either with a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

backing track A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments, sometimes of purely rhythmic accompaniment, often of a rhythm section or other accompaniment parts that live musi ...

or with one of the other band members drumming. Ardolino's solo album ''Unknown Brain'' was released in 2004 on CD by Bumble Bee Records, Japan and on vinyl LP in the USA on Mystra Records. The album consists mostly of basement recordings made in 1971–72. The cover states "WARNING: If out-of-tuneness bothers you, do not listen." He was also an avid collector of

song poem Song poems are songs with lyrics by usually non-professional writers that have been set to music by commercial companies for a fee. This practice, which has long been disparaged in the established music industry, was also known as ''song sharking ...

s, and initiated the "MSR Madness" series of compilations. Ardolino appeared in a

promotional video In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising: Arts, media and entertainment * Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording * Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...

to campaign for the world premiere of ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...

'' in his hometown of Springfield. Tom Ardolino died on January 6, 2012, at a Springfield, Massachusetts, hospital; this was reported on the NRBQ Headquarters page on Facebook. A later article from the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' specified the cause as

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Selected Discography

*''All Hopped Up'' (

Red Rooster Records Red Rooster Records is the record label founded by the band NRBQ in 1972 after being dropped by Columbia Records after lack of chart performance for their albums ''NRBQ'' and '' Boppin' the Blues''. It was distributed by Rounder Records from 1972 t ...

) 1978 *'' At Yankee Stadium'' (

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

) 1978 *''Kick Me Hard'' (

) 1979 *''Tiddlywinks'' (

) 1980 *''NRBQ in Person!'' (

) 1982 *''Grooves in Orbit'' ( Bearsville Records) 1983 *'' Tapdancin' Bats'' (

) 1983 *''She Sings, They Play'' (

) 1985, with

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...

*''Christmas Wish'' ( Rounder Records) 1985 *''Lou & the Q'' (

) 1986, with

Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

*''Uncommon Denominators'' ( Rounder Records) 1986 *''God Bless Us All'' ( Rounder Records) 1987 *''Through the Eyes of a Quartet'' (

Demon Music Group Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

) 1987 *''Diggin’ Uncle Q'' ( Rounder Records) 1988 *''Truth or Consequences'' (Amigo-Sweden) 1988 *''Wild Weekend'' (

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

) 1989 *''Peek-A-Boo, The Best of NRBQ 1969-89'' (

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

) 1990 *''Honest Dollar'' (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

) 1992 *''Stormalong'' (Rabbit Ears/BMG Kidz) 1992, with

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' seri ...

*''Message for the Mess Age'' (

) 1992 *''Tokyo'' (Dreamsville – Japan) 1996 *''Christmas Wish'' (Big Notes) 1996 *''Tokyo'' ( Rounder Records) 1997 *''You’re Nice People, You Are'' ( Rounder Records) 1997 *''You Gotta Be Loose'' ( Rounder Records) 1997 *''NRBQ'' ( Rounder Records) 1999 *''Ridin’ in My Car'' ( Rounder Records) 1999 *''Christmas Wish – Extended Edition'' (Dreamsville – Japan) 2000 *''Atsa My Band'' (Edisun) 2002 *''Music’s Been Good to You'' (Edisun) 2007 *''Live from Mountain Stage'' (Blue Plate) 2002 *''Live at the Wax Museum'' (Edisun) 2003, with

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.Elektra Records) 1991 With Hot Shots *''Teen Street'' (Clang! – US and Vivid Sound Corporation - Japan) 2008 With Neanderthals *''The Modern Stone-Age Family'' (

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

) 1999 With Jim Stephanson *''Say Go'' (Clang!) 2010 With Instant Cytron *''Little Gang Of The Universe'' (Dreamsville Records) 2000 Solo: *''Unknown Brain'' (Bumblebee Records) 2004 As Producer/Presenter *''The Beat of the Traps: MSR Madness Vol 1'' (Carnage Press) 1992 *''The Makers of Smooth Music: MSR Madness Vol 2'' (Carnage Press) 2007 *''Off The Charts: The Song Poem Story'' Various artists (Red Rock Records - film soundtrack)

Video/Film/TV

*''Derbytown'' (Recorded Live in Louisville, 1982, MVD Visual) *''One in a Million'' (Recorded Live in Montreal, 1989, MVD Visual) *''Saturday Night with Connie Chung'' (band profile, CBS, 1989) *''Complex World'', (director Jim Wolpaw, 1992) *'' Take My Wife, Sleaze'', episode 234 of

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

, first broadcast November 28, 1999 *''Off the Charts: The Song Poem Story'' (director Jamie Meltzer, 2003) *''NRBQ: Rock & Roll's Best-Kept Secret'' (produced by

Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, ...

and Julie Thacker, first broadcast on A&E (TV channel)'s Breakfast with the Arts on January 26, 2003 *''Live in Performance'' (SRO Entertainment, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardolino, Tom 1955 births 2012 deaths musicians from Springfield, Massachusetts American rock drummers NRBQ members The Minus 5 members