Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ist,

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

and vocalist. Best known for his work with

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton hit the Canadian top 40 in 1982 with "Don't Break My Heart". Sulton has been a frequent collaborator, bassist and singer on many of

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

's projects and solo tours.

Biography

Sulton attended and graduated in 1973 from Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island, New York. He married his high school sweetheart, Laurie Rampulla, and had three children with her. She died of cancer in 2011. Sulton started his musical career playing piano and vocals for Cherry Vanilla and guitar for Brooklyn-based band Sleepy Hollow before gaining a place in Utopia in 1976. During his time with Utopia, they recorded nine albums and toured extensively until disbanding in 1986, with occasional reunions to the present. He has toured with

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

, Meat Loaf,

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

, Cheap Trick,

Patty Smyth Patricia Smyth (born June 26, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained br ...

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals and ...

and Richie Sambora, among many other artists. As a studio musician, he has played on albums by

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, Indigo Girls and

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

, and appeared on an album of traditional Irish music by Eileen Ivers. He was a member of

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

's backing band, The Blackhearts, touring with them and playing on Jett's album '' Up Your Alley'' (1988) as well as contributing a number of tracks to her compilation album '' The Hit List'' (1990). Sulton was the bassist and sang background vocals on the breakout Meat Loaf album ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' ...

''. He and Thommy Price collaborated on an album, ''Lights On'', which Sulton co-wrote. The song "No T.V. No Phone" was featured in the comedy film '' The Allnighter'' (1987), starring Susanna Hoffs. Sulton recorded a solo album on September 4, 2002, entitled ''Quid Pro Quo''. The album was released on Sphere Sound Records, and Sulton played all but two instruments on the album. He later released another solo album, "3" the fall of 2014, which featured Todd Rundgren on "Clocks All Stopped." Sulton sang background vocals on Meat Loaf's album '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'', joining his backing band, Neverland Express, touring for three years on the ''Everything Louder Tour''. He also recorded on Meat Loaf's album '' Welcome to the Neighborhood'',

arranging In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

and singing background vocals on most of the tracks. He went on to become Music director for Meat Loaf, rehearsing Meat Loaf's band, Neverland Express, in preparation for touring. '' The Very Best of Meat Loaf'' album was released with three new tracks, one of which, " Is Nothing Sacred", was later re-recorded as a duet with Patti Russo and produced by Sulton, with the track reaching No. 15 on the UK charts. Sulton also produced the Meat Loaf album ''

Storytellers Storyteller, story teller, or story-teller may refer to: * A person who does storytelling Arts and entertainment Film *''Oidhche Sheanchais'', also called ''The Storyteller''; 1935 Irish short film * '' Narradores de Javé'' (''Storytellers'') ...

'', and toured with the band on the ''Night of the Proms Tour'' in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the "Meat Loaf Just Havin' Fun for the Summer" and "Winter" Tour in the United States and Europe, where he and Patti Russo both served as opening acts. He also toured on Meat Loaf's "Couldn't Have Said It Better" tour where he played a short solo acoustic set to open the concert at most venues. One of Meat Loaf's shows on this tour was filmed for the DVD '' Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra''. Kasim also toured on the 2005 "Hair of the Dog" Tour and the 2006–2007 "Bat Out of Hell III" tour, and he is featured as bassist/backing vocalist on the album. In summer 2008, he rejoined Meat Loaf for The Casa de Carne Tour. Sulton played bass in the pit orchestra for the

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

-choreographed musical based on Billy Joel music called ''Movin' Out'' on Broadway. After a brief stint with the reunited band

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

in 2004, Sulton joined The New Cars in 2005, replacing original

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

bassist and co-lead vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of cancer in 2000. The band also included original Cars band members

Elliot Easton Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...

and Greg Hawkes as well as Todd Rundgren and Prairie Prince from

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

and The Tubes. An album, '' It's Alive!'', was followed by a tour in 2006, with Sulton singing lead on The Cars' hit " Drive". Sulton continues to appear live playing bass, keyboards, and guitar on most Todd Rundgren tours, including the 2008–09 "Arena" gigs, 2009–10 performances of the classic album '' A Wizard, a True Star'' (1973) in the United States and Europe, and 2010 "TR's Johnson" shows. He was in the band for the six show "Todd/Healing Albums Live" tour that began Labor Day Weekend of 2010 in Akron, Ohio, and played a solo show before the premiere. He also played in the second run of "Todd/Healing Albums Live", a five-show tour that began on 25 March 2011 in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2011, Sulton replaced Matt Bissonette as the bass player in the Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard. In 2012, he joined the classic hard rock band

; he remained its bassist until 2017. In September 2015, Sulton, along with legendary songwriter Paul Williams, led a global virtual songwriting collaboration at Hookist.com. The mission was to write the 1st ever crowd-sourced anthem to be performed at FacingAddiction.org's concert and rally on The National Mall on 4 October 2015, headlined by Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow and

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

among others. The theme of the song was "Celebrate Recovery" and the goal was to reduce the stigma associated with addiction. Sulton, Williams and Dr. Mehmet Oz opened the show and led 10,000 people in a singalong of "Voice Of Change" at the base of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...

. Sulton also led a singalong of the song on The Dr. Oz Show which quickly went viral. A new Kasim Sulton solo album, recorded through 2019 and 2020, was released in 2021 by Deko Records. It includes contributions from notable musicians from Kasim's past and present including Prairie Prince, Mickey Curry, Keith Scott, Gil Assayas,

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Im ...

and John Siegler.

Discography

* '' L'' Steve Hillage (1976, CBS Records) * '' Ra''

(1977, Bearsville Records) * '' Oops! Wrong Planet''

(1977, Bearsville Records) * ''

'' Meat Loaf (1977, Cleveland International Records) * ''Back to the Bars'' Todd Rundgren (1978, Bearsville Records) * ''TRB Two'' Tom Robinson Band (1979, EMI Records) * ''Guitars & Women'' Rick Derringer (1979, Blue Sky Records) * ''Frankie Eldorado'' Frankie Eldorado (1980, August Music) * ''Wasp'' Shaun Cassidy (1980, Warner Bros.) * '' Adventures in Utopia''

(1980, Bearsville Records) * '' Deface the Music''

(1980, Bearsville Records) * ''Bad for Good'' Jim Steinman (1981, Epic Records) * ''

Swing to the Right ''Swing to the Right'' is the sixth studio album by Utopia. It followed the Beatles parody-homage ''Deface the Music''. ''Swing to the Right'' moves into hard-edged commentary on corporate raiders, warmongers, political villains, and despicable m ...

(1982, Bearsville Records) * ''Kasim'' (1982, EMI America) * ''

(1982, Network Records) * ''Party of Two'' The Rubinoos (1983, Berserkly Records) * '' Oblivion''

(1984, Passport Records) * '' POV''

(1985, Passport Records) * ''Good Music'' Joan Jett (1986, CBS Associated Records) * ''Lights On'' Price/Sulton (1986, CBS Associated Records) * ''The Burns Sisters'' The Burns Sisters (1986, Columbia Records) * ''Never Enough'' Patty Smyth (1987, Columbia Records) * ''Dream of Life'' Patty Smith (1987, Arista Records) * '' Trivia''

(1987, Gem Records) * '' Unfinished Business'' Ronnie Spector (1987, Columbia Records) * ''Safety Love'' David Drew (1988, MCA Records) * ''Up Your Alley'' Joan Jett (1988, Blackheart Records) * ''Nearly Human'' Todd Rundgren (1989, Warner Bros. Records) * ''Indigo Girls'' Indigo Girls'' (1989 Epic Records) * ''Atomic Playboys'' Steve Stevens (1989 Warner Bros.) * ''Anthology''

(1989 Rhino Records) * ''Tall Stories''

Johnny Hates Jazz Johnny Hates Jazz are a British band, currently consisting of Clark Datchler (songwriter, vocalist, keyboards) and Mike Nocito (guitarist, bassist, producer, engineer). In April 1987, they achieved international success with their first hit si ...

(1991 Virgin Records) * ''Rock and Roll Hero'' Meat Loaf (1992 Sony Records) * '' Redux '92: Live in Japan''

(1992 BMG) * ''Patty Smyth'' Patty Smyth (1992) * ''Quid Pro Quo'' (2002, Sphere Sound) * ''Traditional Irish Music'' Eileen Ivers (1994) * ''Welcome to the Neighborhood'' Meat Loaf (1995) * ''Required Rocking'' Rick Derringer (1996) * ''Wild Blue'' Eileen Ivers (1996) * ''Falling Into You'' Celine Dion (1996) * ''Free Spirit'' Bonnie Tyler (1996) * ''Palookaville'' Glen Burtnik (1996) * ''Live Around the World'' Meat Loaf (1996) * '' Oblivion, POV & Some Trivia''

(1996) * ''With a Twist'' Todd Rundgren (1997) * ''I.De.A.'' Kyosuke Himuro (1997) * ''Indigo Girls / Strange Fire / Nomads – Indians – Saints'' Indigo Girls (1998) * ''Somewhere/Anywhere?'' Todd Rundgren (1998) * ''Greatest Hits Featuring Scandal'' Patty Smyth (1998) * ''The Basement Tapes'' Kasim Sulton (1998) * ''Official Bootleg Tokyo '79''

(1999) * ''City In My Head''

(1999) * ''Tough Room ... This World'' Ricky Byrd (1999) * ''One Long Year'' Todd Rundgren (2000) * ''Todd Rundgren Live'' King Biscuit CD Todd Rundgren (2000) * ''Quid Pro Quo'' Kasim Sulton (2002) * ''The Wonderground'' Boy Meets Girl (2003) * ''Couldn't Have Said It Better'' Meat Loaf (2003) * ''Pushing Red Buttons'' Pushing Red Buttons (2003) * ''Back On Track'' Lulu (2004) * ''Bat Out of Hell Live'' Meat Loaf and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2004) * ''Utopia Live in Boston: 1982 DVD''

(2004) * ''Unstoppable'' Sounding Rick (2005) * ''An Evening With Kasim Sulton: Live in Atlanta'' (DVD 2006) * ''Never Be Famous'' Sounding Rick (2013) * ''All Sides'' Kasim Sulton (2009) * ''3 (Three)'' Kasim Sulton (2014) * ''Poppy Wisdom'' Sounding Rick (2015) * ''Live Bootleg'' Kasim Sulton (2017) * ''White Knight'' Todd Rundgren (2017) * ''Astral Drive'' Astral Drive' aka

(2018) * ''One (and Done)'' Kül Friis (2021) * ''Orange'' Astral Drive (2021) * ''Kasim 2021'' Kasim Sulton (2021)

References

External links

Kasim's webpage

Authorized fansite

Kasim Sulton radio interview on Rundgren Radio

Career Retrospective Interview from September 2015 with Pods & Sods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulton, Kasim 1955 births Living people American new wave musicians American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock keyboardists American rock singers Blue Öyster Cult members Neverland Express members The New Cars members Scandal (American band) members People from Staten Island Hall & Oates members Utopia (American band) members 20th-century American guitarists Yellow Matter Custard members