Sonny T. (born Sonny Thompson) is an American bass player. He was a member of

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

's recording and stage band, from 1991–1996. Sonny T. was a member of the Minneapolis bands

Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfrie ...

and The Lewis Connection. Prince played guitar and sang backing vocals on the Sonny T composition "Got To Be Something Here", a recording on The Lewis Connection's self-titled and only album. The track was recorded in late 1976 or early 1977 at Sound 80, while Prince also worked on his own tracks (notably this was Prince's first recording). In 2000-2006, he recorded and toured with French reed player

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on 2 ...

for his "Minneapolis" album (Universal France) produced by Jean Rochard. Other members of the group included

Michael Bland Michael Bland (born March 14, 1969) is an American musician best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for seven years. From 1995 to 1997, B ...

Tony Hymas Anthony James Keith "Tony" Hymas (born 23 September 1943) is an English keyboard player, pianist, and composer. Career Hymas started as a chorister at Exeter Cathedral School, where his contemporaries included composer and cathedral organist ...

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...

and

Jef Lee Johnson Jef is a Dutch-language masculine given name primarily used in Belgium. It is a short form of Jozef/ Josef, used also in Breton. People with the name include: *Jef Billings (born 1945), American figure skating costume designer * Jef Boeke (born ...

. In 2010, Sonny T. became a member of

Nick Jonas and the Administration Nick Jonas & the Administration was a band formed in late 2009 as a side project by Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Performers included singer, pianist, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter Nick Jonas, bassist John Fields, drummer Michael Bland, ...

(a project created by

Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

of the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...

) along with other former members of the New Power Generation, drummer

and keyboardist

Tommy Barbarella Tommy Barbarella (born Thomas Elm) is an American keyboardist. He was a member of The New Power Generation, Prince's recording and stage band, from 1991 to 1996. Barbarella also played on Miley Cyrus's album, '' Breakout''. In 2010, Barbarella be ...

, as well as bassist and producer John Fields who was also the producer of the Jonas Brothers music. From 2015 to the present, Sonny T. has been playing with Minneapolis artist Alex Rossi creating a distinctive and funky style of music. In 2021, Sonny T. joined Cory Wong's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

variety show, ''Cory and the Wongnotes'', playing bass and electric guitar in the backing band, and appearing as a featured guest. He also played bass on Wong's 2021 studio album ''The Paisley Park Session''.

References

External links

* Sonny T.at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

New Power Generation members African-American rock musicians American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Minnesota Living people Nick Jonas & the Administration members African-American guitarists {{US-bass-guitarist-stub