Thomas Forbes Hoehn Jr. (November 2, 1954June 24, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and guitarist. Along with

Jon Tiven Jon Tiven (born January 3, 1955) is an American composer, guitarist, record producer, and music journalist. He has produced albums by Wilson Pickett, Frank Black and Don Covay as well as a series of tribute albums paying tribute to the songwriti ...

, he led the Memphis power pop group

Prix Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...

before embarking on a solo career. He also provided backing vocals on Big Star's third album, ''

Third/Sister Lovers ''Third'' (reissued in 1985 as ''Third/Sister Lovers'') is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 197 ...

'', and collaborated with Big Star members

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

and Chris Bell as well as Memphis power pop group

The Scruffs The Scruffs are an American power pop group formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1974 by writer/guitarist/vocalist Stephen Burns along with guitarist David Branyan, bassist Rick Branyan, and drummer Zeph Paulson. Although their line up has changed many ...

. Hoehn and Tiven formed Prix in 1975, not long after Hoehn had given Tiven a tape of his material. Enlisting Chris Bell as a co-producer, the group recorded numerous songs in

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Ardent ...

over a six-month period. While Prix garnered some major label interest, and performed at a Columbia/CBS Records showcase in New York in 1976, the group ultimately only released two contemporaneous singles, and broke up in early 1977. A compilation of eleven songs recorded by Prix, entitled ''Historix'', would be released almost 40 years later. Following the break up of Prix, Hoehn pursued a solo career, releasing the regional hit single ''Blow Yourself Up'' in 1977 on Power Play Records, a local Memphis label. That same year, Power Play Records released Hoehn's first solo album ''Spacebreak'', which contained two of the songs Hoehn had recorded with Prix as well as the ''Blow Yourself Up'' single. In 1978,

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

signed Hoehn and released ''Spacebreak'' and an additional song as the album ''Losing You to Sleep''. The album was critically well received, with both ''

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 adverti ...

'' and '' Cashbox'' giving it highly positive reviews. In '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

described the album as a "romantically inclined sample" of "the concentrated energy of Memphis power pop." Despite the favorable reviews, and despite promotional support, such as a full page ad in ''

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

'', the album did not sell well. In 1981, Hoehn released the album ''I Do Love The Light'', which he followed up in 1983 with the EP ''I'm So Afraid of Girls''. Following more than a decade-long hiatus, Hoehn returned to the music business in the 1990s, releasing the albums ''Of Moons and Fools'' in 1996 and ''The Turning Dance'' in 1997. He then teamed up with fellow Memphis power pop artist Van Duren, releasing three albums in the period from 1999 to 2002: ''Hailstone Holiday'', ''Cows on the Fence'', and ''Blue Orange''. In late 2009, Hoehn began work on a solo album tentatively titled ''Pi''. However, in December 2009, Hoehn was diagnosed with cancer, and became too ill to sing lead vocals on the album. He died on June 24, 2010, at the age of 55.

Discography

;Prix ft. Tommy Hoehn *''Girl / Everytime I Close My Eyes / Zero'' ( Ork Records, 1977) *''Love You Tonight'' (Miracle Records, 1978) *''Historix'' (Air Mail Records, 2002; re-released,

HoZac Records HoZac Records is a record label formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States in late 2006 by Todd Killings and Brett Cross after the demise of ''Horizontal Action Magazine'' (1997–2005). Concentrating on releasing records from musicians of the ...

, 2016) *'' Ork Records: New York, New York'' (Numero Records, 2015) ;Tommy Hoehn solo LPs *''Spacebreak'' – (Power Play Records, 1977) HLPP-5051 *''Losing You to Sleep'' – (

, 1978) SH-U 8536 *''I Do Love the Light'' – (Power Play Records, 1981) HLPP-5052 *''Of Moons and Fools'' - (Frankenstein Records, 1996) FR0069 *''The Turning Dance'' – (Frankenstein Records, 1997) FR0071 *''Losing You to Sleep'' (expanded edition) (Air Mail Records CD, 2006) *''Losing You to Sleep'' (expanded edition) (Milk & Soda Records digital download, 2010) ;Tommy Hoehn solo singles and EPs *''Blow Yourself Up'' – (Power Play Records 7" single, 1977) PP1954 *''I'm So Afraid of Girls'' – (Race Records EP, 1983) RR383 ;Tommy Hoehn with Van Duren *''Hailstone Holiday'' – (Frankenstein Records, 1999) FR-1124 *''Blue Orange'' – (Frankenstein Records, 2002) FR-1210 ;Appeared on *Big Star, ''

'' (PVC, 1978) – backing vocals *Alex Chilton, ''Singer Not the Song'' (EP) – (Ork Records, 1977) - backing vocals, keyboards *Alex Chilton, '' Bach's Bottom'' – (Line, 1980) - backing vocals, keyboards *The Scruffs – ''Angst: The Early Recordings 1974 - 1976'' – (Northern Heights, 1998) – backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoehn, Tommy 1954 births 2010 deaths American rock singers American rock keyboardists American rock pianists American male pianists American rock songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists Power pop musicians Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from Tennessee