Tom Frager (born 1 July 1977 in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, Senegal) is a French

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and performer in the group Gwayav' and is ten times a surfer winner in Guadeloupe. He is primarily known for his French hit " Lady Melody", which was number-one for four weeks.

Biography

Born in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, Tom Frager grew up in Guadeloupe where he became the most successful local surfer of his generation. He moved to metropolitan France in 2000 and lived in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. He joined the team of France and, with his guitar, wrote songs during his travels around the world for competitions. Tom Frager mixed pop,

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 ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

with original melodies and broken rhythm. His influences range from reggae by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

to rock by Sublime and pop soul by

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

. Frager co-wrote with other artists, like

Tom Curren Tom Curren is an American surfer. Professional career By the time Curren joined the ASP World Tour in 1983, he was competing with professionals such as Rabbit Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, and Cheyne Horan. He was world champion A world c ...

and Keziah Jones' guitarist Amen Viana. He was on stage alongside

Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in hi ...

, Toots & the Maytals, Patrice, Groundation, Sizzla, Sublime Tribute, the People of the Grass and performed on major festivals such as French

Francofolies Francofolies or Les Francofolies may refer to: * Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, a music festival in Montréal, Québec, Canada * Les Francofolies de La Rochelle Les Francofolies () are an annual music festival founded in 1985 in La Rochelle, P ...

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

or the Extravagance of Biarritz. Tom Frager & Gwayav' gave almost 400 concerts in a period of seven years. Frager achieved national notability in September 2009 with his song "Lady Melody", which entered the French singles chart at number-one and stayed there for four weeks. The song was also number-one on the French digital chart. After the success of this first single from the album ''Better Days'', a new single, "Give Me That Love", was scheduled to be released. The album had a peak at number five in August 2009.

Gwayav'

In 2002, he formed the group Gwayav' with four of his friends, musicians and surfers. Their debut album ''Bloom Inside'' sold nearly 5,000 copies. ;Members * Tom Frager: vocals, guitar * Henry Daurel: guitar * Janine Terhoff: chorus * Carolina Carmona: chorus * Stephane Garcia Tudela: drum kit * Jerome Gron: piano * Lionel Dubourdieu: bass * Marc Closier:

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

* Thomas Renwick: guitar * Fabrice Lefèvre: sound engineer

Discography

Albums

;Tom Frager and Gwayav'

Singles

;Tom Frager and Gwayav' ¹ Digital Downloads

References

External links

Official site

Unofficial fan club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frager, Tom 1977 births Living people French singer-songwriters French surfers People from Dakar 21st-century French singers 21st-century French male singers French male singer-songwriters