Scott Troy Thurston (born January 10, 1952) is an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

, keyboardist,

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

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. He was a member of

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

, and of

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

, in which he sang harmony vocals and played guitar, bass, keyboards, and harmonica.

Musical career

Raised in Medford,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, Thurston started out as a session musician. He has played with

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

(1986 to 1998),

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

(1991), Melissa Etheridge, Glenn Frey, Hokus Pokus, Iggy And The Stooges (as part of the band from 1973 to 1974, and recordings with

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

in 1975, 1977 and 1979), Jump (1971; organ & lead vocals),

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

, The Motels,

Ron Asheton Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...

's The New Order,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, and

John Trudell John Trudell (February 15, 1946December 8, 2015) was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as ''Radi ...

. Thurston later became a professional songwriter, penning tunes for (and sometimes with)

, and The Motels. James Williamson of Iggy and the Stooges has said, "I was over at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

and as I was going out I was watching this guy recording and it was Scott Thurston with this other band. He was cool, I could hear that he was a great piano player, so I got his contact info and I said, 'You wanna play with us?' When we put the band Iggy and the Stooges back together, I asked him if he wanted to play with us, and he said, 'Sure,' and the rest is history." Williamson went on to say that he did not play much on Iggy Pop's ''

New Values ''New Values'' is the third studio album by American musician Iggy Pop. It was released in July 1979 by record label Arista. Background ''New Values'' was Pop's first record for Arista and the first collaboration by Pop and James Williamson ...

'' album: "Actually, I only played guitar on a couple of things. Scott played almost all the guitar. He's a very talented guy. He's a very good guitar player and a very good keyboard guy. He's just a very good musician." In 1982 Thurston joined The Motels and played on their 1983 album '' Little Robbers''. Prior to that he was also a member of the Chas Sandford Group. Thurston joined

for their '' Full Moon Fever'' tour in 1989, which turned into a permanent spot for Thurston in the band's lineup. Thurston played rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and sang backing vocals.

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

said, "I was trying to get him out of the corner over there, because he always saw himself as a sideman—"I'm a Sidebreaker"—and he tried to stay over to the side. But we love him, he sings great with me, and we want him out there with us. He's a good buffer between the rest of us. When we're fighting or have some cliqueishness, he's good at getting in there and saying, "Let's look at it this way," because Duckhead, as we call him, is neutral. He doesn't come from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, wasn't there when this or that happened."''Rolling Stone'', July 8–22, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Scott 1952 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers members Living people People from Medford, Oregon Rhythm guitarists Protopunk musicians The New Order (band) members 20th-century American guitarists The Motels members