Tom Verlaine

Verlaine fronted the ambitious and oblique New York band Television, with whom he made two of rock's most acclaimed albums.

That year, when a reporter asked him to describe his career, Verlaine said slyly, “Struggling not to have a professional career.” But the records didn’t sell and the band broke up, reuniting for a third album, called “Television,” in 1992 before disappearing again. The first two Television albums — “Marquee Moon,” released in 1977, and “Adventure,” a year later — were enough to cement the band’s enduring legend. But Verlaine himself seemed loathe to pursue the explosive, careening music that brought him renown. Although Television first attracted attention at the New York punk rock club CBGB, Verlaine wasn’t a fan of punk, which he described as “just amped-up bubblegum with angrier lyrics.” Among other things, punk bands eschewed solos, which Verlaine and fellow guitarist Richard Lloyd did not. “The personal loss, for me, is absolutely devastating.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Tom Verlaine, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal proto-punk band Television who influenced many bands while playing at ultra-cool ...

“His vision and his imagination will be missed.” They were tall, skinny, sardonic kids who dropped out and made their way to the East Village, where they worked in bookstores and wrote poetry together. Tributes online included those from Susanna Hoffs and Billy Idol, who said Verlaine made music that influenced the US and UK punk scene. It has been a clear influence on such artists as Pavement, Sonic Youth, the Strokes and Jeff Buckley,” Billboard magazine wrote in 2003. Verlaine released eight solo albums, his most commercially successful being his 1981 sophomore solo album “Dreamtime,” which peaked at No. “Tom Verlaine has passed over to the beyond that his guitar playing always hinted at.

Tom Verlaine, a founder, lead vocalist and guitarist for '70s N.Y. rock band Television, has died. He was 73 years old.

After the “Television” reunion album and the instrumental set “Warm and Cool” in 1992, he opted out on recording for nearly a decade and a half. In the studio, and on tour, he frequently served as accompanist to former paramour Patti Smith, and appeared on her albums “Gone Again” (1996), “Gung Ho” (2000), “Twelve” (2007) and “Banga” (2012). But, despite the fact that Television gelled into one of the most formidable live acts on the scene, neither the debut LP nor its successor “Adventure” managed to enter the American charts, and the group dissolved within weeks of the end of its 1978 U.S. (Some of Hell’s songs for Television were heard on “Blank Generation,” the 1977 debut by his band the Voidoids.) With Blondie’s original bassist Fred Smith enlisted to replace Hell, the band recorded a storming seven-minute track that was issued across two sides of a single released by Ork on his eponymous label in September 1975. “Up until then, the guitar was a stupid instrument to me,” he recalled in a 2001 interview with Mojo. But the New York Dolls’ glam scene inspired the pair to form a band, the Neon Boys, with Meyers on bass and Ficca recruited as the drummer. The two became close friends, and made an attempt to run away to Florida that was squelched by the police in Alabama. In 1963, he took up the saxophone after gravitating to the music of jazz avant gardists Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk and Albert Ayler. In 2007, Lloyd was replaced in the touring unit by Jimmy Ripp, who had for many years supported Verlaine on his solo albums and tours. A love of symphonic music led him to the piano as a child. It was a revelation and I was hoping my Jazzmaster could somehow channel his when I played the solo on ‘Halloween’ on the first Dream Syndicate album.

His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.

Will Sergeant, guitarist of Echo & The Bunnymen, said: "Tom Verlaine's playing meant the world to me. He set me on my path as a guitarist, thank you Tom." That takes a special greatness."

Tom Verlaine has died after a brief illness, a representative for the influential guitarist and founding member of Television confirms. He was 73.

He was 73.Verlaine died peacefully and surrounded by My heart is too intensely full to share everything now, and finding the words is too deep of a struggle. What a blessing and gift I was given to share my time on earth with you. The feeling inside is so heavy, though your spirit is light and lifted, it is everywhere, completely and truly free,” she wrote on the post, where she shared a personal photo of the pair. In fact, when I hear the term ‘music’ I never think of ‘songs.’” With Television he brought his signature guitar work and songwriting to two albums, 1977’s landmark Marquee Moon and 1978’s Adventure, before the group parted ways in 1978.

The founding father of American punk and a fixture in the 1970s New York rock scene died Saturday as the result of a brief illness.

"Tom and I had an hysterically funny conversation that lasted the last 42 years," guitarist and Television member Jimmy Rip wrote in a statement to NPR. "He was blindingly smart, incredibly well read as well as surreally silly! "I met Tom when I was a child, not long after my dad passed away," Jesse Paris Smith wrote in a statement to NPR. Verlaine developed a cult following throughout his career, but never quite achieved mainstream status and eschewed the limelight. Verlaine thought for a moment before offering his preferred self-deprecating epigram: 'Struggling not to have a professional career.' " Born Thomas Miller in Denville, N.J., Verlaine grew up in Wilmington, Del.

Tom Verlaine, singer and guitarist for punk legends Television who crafted the band's 1977 masterpiece 'Marquee Moon,' has died at the age of 73.

[Marquee Moon](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/marquee-moon-2-251950/), the centerpiece of which was the album’s twisty, mesmerizing title track. “And I liked that; I thought that was valuable.” In 1979, Verlaine released his self-titled solo album, which included the song “Kingdom Come,” recorded a year later by David Bowie for that icon’s 1980 LP Scary Monsters & Super Freaks. “As exhilarating in its lyrical ambitions as the Ramones’ debut was in its brutal simplicity, Marquee Moon still amazes,” Rolling Stone wrote. Television’s classic lineup would only release one more album during the Seventies, 1978’s Adventure, before Verlaine embarked on his solo career. Arriving in Manhattan’s Lower East Side at the dawn of punk, Verlaine and Hell first teamed up for the short-lived act Neon Boys before co-founding Television in 1973 alongside guitarist Richard Lloyd.

The founding father of American punk and a fixture in the 1970s New York rock scene died Saturday as the result of a brief illness.

"Tom and I had an hysterically funny conversation that lasted the last 42 years," guitarist and Television member Jimmy Rip wrote in a statement to NPR. "He was blindingly smart, incredibly well read as well as surreally silly! Verlaine developed a cult following throughout his career, but never quite achieved mainstream status and eschewed the limelight. "I met Tom when I was a child, not long after my dad passed away," Jesse Paris Smith wrote in a statement to NPR. Verlaine thought for a moment before offering his preferred self-deprecating epigram: 'Struggling not to have a professional career.' " Born Thomas Miller in Denville, N.J., Verlaine grew up in Wilmington, Del.

Verlaine's poetic lyrics and clear, hook-heavy guitar work helped place Television at the heart of the rising punk scene.

(A cover of one of the album’s songs, “Kingdom Come,” ended up on David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) the next year, although Bowie ultimately decided against having Verlaine play on the track.) Over the years, Verlaine continued his exploration of his own guitar style, and, while never the high-speed shredder of some of his contemporaries, his understanding of the instrument’s sound remained unparalleled. Born in New Jersey (as Thomas Miller) and raised in Delaware, Verlaine started playing music as a kid, forming an early interest in both jazz and rock. As the singer, songwriter, and guitar player for influential New York band Television, Verlaine shaped the sound of rock and punk music in the 1970s and beyond, applying a poetic flair (and serious musicianship) to the rougher edges of the wider movement.

Tom Verlaine, an iconic punk guitarist known as the front man for the band Television, has died at the age of 73, according to Patti Smith's daughter, ...

[Patti Smith](https://www.vulture.com/article/patti-smith-a-book-of-days-photography-instagram.html), Smashing Pumpkins’s Tony Garnier, and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley. He frequently worked closely with [Smith](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/patti-smith-rock-and-roll-n-r-removed-streaming-services.html), including on her Grammy-nominated single “Glitter in Their Eyes” and “Fireflies.” Verlaine, alongside Sonic Youth’s Ranaldo and Shelley, Wilco’s Nels Cline, Garnier, Smokey Hormel, and John Medeski, made up the super-group Million Dollar Basher, creating music that appeared in Dylan’s biographical film, I’m Not There. [Tom Verlaine](https://www.vulture.com/2007/06/tom_verlaine_stops_bitching_lo_1.html), an iconic punk guitarist known as the front man for the band [Television](https://www.vulture.com/2015/12/televisions-richard-lloyd-will-teach-you-guitar.html), has died at the age of 73, according to Patti Smith’s daughter, [Jesse Paris Smith](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-gFLpvikB/?hl=en). Joined by [Richard Hell](https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/new-york-punk-then-and-now-godlis-ork.html), they first formed the group the Neon Boys before later transforming into Television. [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/28/arts/music/tom-verlaine-dead.html) Verlaine collaborated with many artists like

The legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist also collaborated with David Bowie, Patti Smith, and Sonic Youth.

[Smith](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-efDrJ29T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), [Michael Stipe](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-io5UPvC7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), [Sleater-Kinney](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-jymJvdbV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), the Bangles’ [Susanna Hoffs](https://twitter.com/SusannaHoffs/status/1619454390435471360), [Kim Gordon](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-d2-zSv_-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), [Thurston Moore](https://twitter.com/nowjazznow/status/1619457097737056257), [Real Estate](https://twitter.com/realestateband/status/1619446379600044032), [Heems](https://twitter.com/HIMANSHU/status/1619454607331315713), and [Ryley Walker](https://twitter.com/ryleywalker/status/1619443120713924609), among others. Verlaine also collaborated with David Bowie, [Violent Femmes](https://pitchfork.com/news/violent-femmes-announce-new-album-share-new-song-with-televisions-tom-verlaine-listen/), and James Iha, among others. [I’m Not There](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10841-im-not-there-ost/). He enjoyed a fruitful writing period in the ‘80s with the full-lengths Dreamtime, Words From the Front, Cover, and Flash Light. Verlaine put out three more LPs in the next decade and then took a short break. [19th Nervous Breakdown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEseb6-hssc)” Verlaine and Hell formed their first band the Neon Boys with drummer Billy Ficca in 1972. Verlaine also went on to work with a number of musicians after Television. The band would briefly reform in the early ‘90s to record a self-titled studio album. The two bonded over art and music, fled the school together and eventually settled in New York City in the late 1960’s. They spent much of 1974–75 building a cult following at downtown clubs like Max’s Kansas City and CBGB; Hell left the band in 1975 and formed the Heartbreakers with Jerry Nolan and Johnny Thunders, who had just quit the New York Dolls. He went on to release several solo vocal and instrumental as Tom Verlaine and as part of a duo interpreting silent films. Born Thomas Miller in New Jersey in 1949 and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, he attended the Sanford School, a private boarding school in Hockessin, Delaware.

Patti Smith and Billy Idol were among those to pay tribute to punk godfather and Television frontman Tom Verlaine, who died at age 73 on Sunday.

[Billy Idol](https://people.com/music/billy-idol-honored-star-hollywood-walk-of-fame/) penned in a tribute: "Sad 2 hear of @TELE_VISION_TV #tomverlaine passing today. Over the years, he collaborated with several big names in rock music. The group quickly disbanded before reforming months later as Television and adding guitarist Richard Lloyd. "He had long hair and came to my apartment with an acoustic guitar and played some songs he'd written," Stein, 73 continued. Smith, 76, shared an old black-and-white photo of the two of them on Instagram. Many paid tribute to Verlaine on social media, following the news of his death.

Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Chris Stein, and many more artists have paid tribute to Television's Tom Verlaine, who died at age 73.

[Sleater-Kinney](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/sleater-kinney/) noted how the guitarist informed their playing and writing. The intertwining of notes, completing each other’s sentences, toying with consonance and dissonance, beautifully colliding then breaking away; telling us so much without a single word,” [the group wrote](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-jymJvdbV/). Both Tom and Richard Hell have told me that I auditioned for the Neon Boys but I don’t remember.” “Bless you Tom Verlaine for the songs, the lyrics, the voice! And later, the laughs, the inspiration, the stories, and the rigorous belief that music and art can alter and change matter, lives, experience. “Farewell Tom, aloft the Omega.”

Tom Verlaine, who redefined rock guitar in the punk era of the 1970s with his band Television, died Saturday in Manhattan.

But, despite the fact that Television gelled into one of the most formidable live acts on the scene, neither the debut LP nor its successor “Adventure” managed to enter the American charts, and the group dissolved within weeks of the end of its 1978 U.S. “Up until then, the guitar was a stupid instrument to me,” he recalled in a 2001 interview with Mojo. In 1963, he took up the saxophone after gravitating to the music of jazz avant gardists Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk and Albert Ayler. A love of symphonic music led him to the piano as a child. In 2007, Lloyd was replaced in the touring unit by Jimmy Ripp, who had for many years supported Verlaine on his solo albums and tours. It was a revelation and I was hoping my Jazzmaster could somehow channel his when I played the solo on ‘Halloween’ on the first Dream Syndicate album.

A hugely gifted and original musician, Verlaine kept up the exacting standards in his solo career.

Verlaine and Television honed their approach to perfection on 1977’s Marquee Moon, which was one of the greatest debut albums of its era and also so set apart from the prevalent trends of its era that it hasn’t dated at all in the ensuing 45 years. By the time Television re-formed in 1992, the extent of the influence they wielded was obvious. It was very much a DIY product – released on a label their manager, Terry Ork, had set up specifically to put it out, recorded in mono, pressed not on vinyl but the cheaper alternative styrene – but there its resemblance to anything we might think of as punk ends: it was a world away from the short, sharp shocks of the Ramones or indeed the nascent Sex Pistols. In 1975, Malcolm McLaren returned to England from a sojourn in New York with a selection of posters and set lists he had collected in the city. Television had been formed from the ashes of the short-lived Neon Boys by two childhood friends, Tom Miller and Richard Meyers, who had relocated to New York and renamed themselves Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell. Ostensibly managing the New York Dolls, he had become enamoured of another band, who appeared to be kickstarting a new movement in the city.

Punk rock guitarist Tom Verlaine, the frontman for the rock band Television, died at the age of 73.

“Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever. He effected the way John and I play immeasurably. You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down. “‘I’ve lost a hero…. The group has toured on and off since 2001. [according to the Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/28/tom-verlaine-frontman-and-guitarist-of-us-band-television-dies-at-73)

Visionary frontman of Television whose 1977 debut LP Marquee Moon is considered one of the most influential albums of its era.

The album was co-produced by the studio engineer [Andy Johns](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/09/andy-johns-producer-dies), who had worked with the Rolling Stones, Free and Led Zeppelin, and who helped Verlaine achieve the clarity of sound for which he was searching. [Malcolm McLaren](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/09/malcolm-mclaren-obituary)’s styling of the Sex Pistols, had already been sacked by Verlaine on the grounds of heroin-induced unreliability by the time Television made their first single. A second album, Adventure, made less impact and the band dissolved in 1978 after disagreements between Verlaine and Lloyd. Two albums of instrumental pieces, Warm and Cool (1992) and Around (2006), showed his gift for creating tone poems inspired by film noir. [Blank Generation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqsDXmmaEAk)) and the soaring interplay between the two lead guitarists quickly earned them a following among New York’s scenemakers. In 1995 he appeared as a guest with Smith’s band on a US tour with Bob Dylan. Smith, then beginning her rise to prominence, was another early supporter, and Verlaine played on her first single, a version of [Hey Joe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEkmoawOih0), in 1974. They had made their separate ways to New York by 1971, where they teamed up again on the Lower East Side, changed their names to Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell, scuffled for work and wrote poetry together under the nom-de-plume “Theresa Stern”. But among the artfully distressed apparel, defiant haircuts and painfully skinny silhouettes of their milieu, none of those serving apprenticeships in [CBGB](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/11/cbgbs-rocks-backpages)s, Max’s Kansas City and other New York clubs showed more concern for the music itself than Verlaine. But it was his exploratory guitar solos that spoke of his early interest in, and deep knowledge of, the avant-garde jazz of the 1960s. He was born Thomas Miller in Morriston, New Jersey, into a middle-class family who moved to Wilmington, Delaware, when he was six years old. Although each of those groups pursued a very different musical path, together their impact would shape what became known as the punk movement, while Television’s debut LP, Marquee Moon, released in 1977, would secure a place among the most admired and enduringly influential albums of its era.

Tom Verlaine, founding member of seminal New York punk band Television, died Saturday at age 73 "after a brief illness," according to a news release from ...

“He made incredible music that greatly influenced the US & UK punk rock scene in the ’70’s,” [wrote Idol.](https://twitter.com/BillyIdol/status/1619476443586756609) Grief is not an affliction, but a privilege.” [Blondie’s Debbie Harry](https://twitter.com/BlondieOfficial/status/1619450134819115008) and Billy Idol similarly honored the guitarist and songwriter on social media. “He was the perfect friend and support for me as a little girl.” The two were a couple in the 1970s and remained lifelong friends. The guitarist, raised in Wilmington, Delaware, was “noted for his angular lyricism and pointed lyrical asides, a sly wit, and an ability to shake each string to its truest emotion,” the release added. [picture of herself with Verlaine ](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-efDrJ29T/)as well [another of a vase of flowers](https://www.instagram.com/p/CoAEbjiO6qA/) with the caption, “This is morning thinking about Tom.

Leader of the group Television, Verlaine was an astronomically influential figure in the New York scene.

[cited](https://rockportraits.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/television/) jazz saxophonists John Coltrane and Albert Ayler as inspiration, and early on Television covered “ [Fire Engine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq-xhBUCQAA)” by the trailblazing psychedelic group the 13th Floor Elevators. This line-up, with Billy Ficca on drums, was the one that entered Phil Ramone’s (no relation to The Ramones) A & R Studios in Manhattan in September 1976 to record “Marquee Moon” for Elektra Records. He was replaced by Fred Smith (not to be confused with Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5, who would eventually marry Patti Smith of the Patti Smith Group, whose name was already Smith before they wed.) Hell, who played bass and sang backing vocals, eventually split to found The Heartbreakers (with exiting members of the New York Dolls) and then Richard Hell and the Voidoids. This appears to be made up, but perhaps speaks to the shroud of mystery that surrounded this uncategorizable group.) [has died](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/28/arts/music/tom-verlaine-dead.html), according to Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of musician Patti Smith, following “a brief illness.” Though never a commercial success, Verlaine’s influence as an artist and icon of downtown cool has reverberated throughout the decades.

Television Frontman Tom Verlaine Mourned by Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Flea & More: 'I've Lost a Hero'. "Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ...

[tweeted](https://twitter.com/flea333/status/1619510354895314944). Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest [rock](https://www.billboard.com/t/rock/) musicians ever. With Television he brought his signature guitar work and songwriting to two albums, 1977’s landmark Marquee Moon and 1978’s Adventure, before the group parted ways in 1978. He had long hair and came to my apartment with an acoustic guitar and played some songs he’d written,” Stein [wrote](https://twitter.com/chrissteinplays/status/1619465140432433153). “And later, the laughs, the inspiration, the stories, and the rigorous belief that music and art can alter and change matter, lives, experience. [wrote](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-lnNqJJpc/?hl=en). You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down. [tweeted](https://twitter.com/chrissteinplays/status/1619450826703134720) a vintage concert poster featuring Television and Blondie on the same bill, and he recalled first meeting Verlaine in 1972. [R.E.M.](https://www.billboard.com/artist/r-e-m/)’s official Instagram account. [Television](https://www.billboard.com/artist/television/) frontman [Tom Verlaine](https://www.billboard.com/artist/tom-verlaine/), who has died following a brief illness. [Patti Smith](https://www.billboard.com/artist/patti-smith/), [Michael Stipe](https://www.billboard.com/artist/michael-stipe/), [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://www.billboard.com/artist/red-hot-chili-peppers/)‘ [Flea](https://www.billboard.com/artist/flea/), [Blondie](https://www.billboard.com/artist/blondie/)‘s [Chris Stein](https://www.billboard.com/artist/chris-stein/) and many others took to social media to honor the innovative guitarist, who [died peacefully](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/tom-verlaine-dead-1235207589/) in New York City, a Television representative confirmed to Billboard on (Saturday) Jan.

He made his bones in the 1970s with Television, the garage band who created a new kind of psychedelic sublime in the CBGB punk scene. Television made two of the ...

His most underrated solo album is Cover from 1984, a synth-pop experiment with glossy grooves like “Dissolve/Reveal,” “Rotation,” and “Swim.” Fittingly, he played on Patti Smith’s 1996 comeback Gone Again as well as the soundtrack of Todd Haynes’ Dylan fantasia I’m Not There, with a spooky version of “Cold Irons Bound” from Time Out of Mind. But even as Verlaine opted out of the rock hustle, his guitar sound became a permanent part of the rock soundscape. “The time between the songs is longer than the songs.” [“Breakin’ In My Heart,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5aA1xPCZRo) with killer rhythm guitar from the B-52s’ Ricky Wilson. Adventure was nearly as great, with frantically funny raves like “Glory” and “Careful” (“Your wine is just sour grapes/Pour me a glass any time I’m not there”), along with fragile ballads like “Carried Away” and the R.E.M.-inventing “Days.” They kept getting fiercer on the road in 1978, as documented on bootlegs. Television released a local single in 1975, on the indie Ork label, “Little Johnny Jewel.” (Just a shadow of the live monster it would become.) Hell and Verlaine had a bitter falling out by the time Television made their classic debut. The best “Marquee Moon” ever is the 17-minute version from the Portland show of July 1978; the best “Little Johnny Jewel” is the 11-minute version from San Francisco a few days earlier. As Verlaine told Rolling Stone in 1977, “There are any number of ways to get from one place to another on the neck of the guitar that I don’t know about.” Every time he played, he was looking to go somewhere new. & Rakim were to NYC hip-hop — always looking to take off into the mystic, dropping abstract poetry on an audience that came to dance, and Marquee Moon always sounds like a twin to Paid In Full. Naturally, they started a band, the Neon Boys, with fantastic glam-trash nuggets like “High Heeled Wheels” and “That’s All I Know Right Now.” The Neon Boys got tougher when they turned into Television, obsessed with the Velvet Underground and John Coltrane. Verlaine was the ultimate New York guitar god and Television were the ultimate New York band, mystic guitar boys dressing up like punks and singing like poets. [Tom Verlaine](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/tom-verlaine/), for some of us the greatest American rock guitarist not named “Hendrix.” Verlaine, [who died Saturday at 73](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-verlaine-television-dead-obit-1234670298/), could hit cosmic heights that no other guitar virtuoso could reach.