Introducing Dr. Tommy Thompson

My name is Tommy Thompson. The sound of soul music in the '60s like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Temptations, Smokey Robinson, and others, greatly influenced my outlook on life. In the '70s, funk music and the emergence of bass players in the forefront like Larry Graham and Louis Johnson changed my perception even more. During the late 1970s, a close friend introduced me to rock-n-roll. From that point, my life has not been the same. During my freshman year in college I was re-introduced to the bass and the "TONE" of Marcus Miller. The tone of his bass guitar has affected me a great deal in a very positive manner.

My formal music training began in the Mobile public school system. In 1971, at the age of 10, I started with strings and continued until I graduated from high school. A very special moment in my life was at age 12 when I was selected as a 2nd violinist to the Mobile Student Symphony Orchestra. The Mobile Student Symphony Orchestra consisted of 115 members and I was one of only three blacks. At the age of 12, I also began private lessons for guitar and bass at 13. Somewhere between 10 and 13, I tried playing drums but stopped after a couple of years. During my senior year in high school, I received two music scholarships and one for academics.

After graduating from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Applied Physics I began work at NASA- Marshall Space Flight Center. Two co-workers and I started Abstract Band. One of the co-workers decided to pursue a different path. My original role in Abstract was as a bassist. Yeah!!!!!!!!! However times change, and it was best for the band that I play guitar again. Why? Why not? Anyways, in order to come up to speed on guitar I acquired the teachings of Mr. Eddie "Spanky" Alford. From that point my guitar playing took a drastic upward turn. So for the time being I'm a guitar player again.

Special thanks are given to my wife and daughters, Cassandra, Kristin, Jacquelyn and Brooke, respectively. The love from you means a great deal to me.

Musical influences that lift my awareness are from some guys I have known for a while: J.D. Blair, Spanky, Victor Caldwell, Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller (M2). Thanks for the helpful hints and great insight.