Tom Flannery
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tom Flannery (born July 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and playwright from Scranton, Pennsylvania,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
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 databas ...
has called him "one of the most gifted songwriters to emerge at the turn of the century."


Career

After three critically acclaimed albums (1998's ''Song About a Train'', ''The Anthracite Shuffle'' in 2000, and 2002's solo acoustic ''Drinking With Nick Drake'') he started the websit
Songaweek.com
with friend and fellow songwriter Lorne Clarke as a venue to release all his new music digitally. In the five years between 2003 and 2008 he recorded and made available at least one brand new song per week, frequently writing about current events. ''The Anthracite Shuffle'', a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
dealing with the history of coal mining in Northeastern Pennsylvania, was inspired by a 1996 journey to
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
which Flannery found strikingly flat and level compared to his mountainous home. In 2005 he contributed a solo acoustic version of the song "Boom Boom Mancini" to a
Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
tribute album called '' Hurry Home Early: The Songs of Warren Zevon''. ''Splendid Magazine'' called the performance "''bone-chilling.....(it) marks the disc's pinnacle. Whereas Zevon's versions paint Mancini as a modern-day folk hero, Flannery's haunting vocal delivery gives the boxer's story a terrifying, stone-cold killer interpretation.''" In 2006 he co-wrote the soundtrack for the award winning feature length documentary '' Facing Sudan''. In addition, he contributed several songs in 2008 for the short documentary '' Crayons and Paper'', a followup to '' Facing Sudan''. ''Connections Magazine'' called his 2009 release '' Pete Townshend's Ghost'' "dark and expressive, glorious and sobering… A delicately haunting slice of passion-laden songwriting. …Immediate and gripping, akin to sitting in a living room at the feet of grizzled troubadours like
Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...
or
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, soaking in the wisdom of a life perhaps not so clean but still crying out for redemption." His produced plays include ''The Driveway'' (directed by
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winning dramatist and
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated actor Jason Miller), ''God Bless Roy Campanella'', ''Spanish Lady: Reflections on 1918 '', ''God and the Ghost of Woody Guthrie'', ''The Katrina Monologues'', '' Marcinkus'' and ''The Last Thoughts of
Gino Merli Gino Joseph Merli (May 13, 1924 – June 11, 2002) was an Italian-American soldier, and recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II. Biography Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Merli was the son of a coal miner. He entered service in ...
''. In September 2007 ''The Last Thoughts of Gino Merli'' was adapted into a
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
documentary called ''Gino Merli: The Healing Hero''. In 2012 he released a full band record called '' Teen Angst and the Green Flannel'', a song cycle written from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy. OurTownRadio.net wrote that "“This is bona-fide rock n' roll soul food. “Teen angst and the green flannel” kicks in the door as well as anything done by the stooges and the who in their primes.." His latest release is 2012's '' Love and Streets'', a collection of solo acoustic tracks.Vinylvoyageradio.com
/ref>


Discography


Solo

Studio albums *''Song About a Train'' (1998) *''The Anthracite Shuffle'' (2000) *''Drinking With Nick Drake'' (2002) *''Civil War Battle Ballads'' (2008) *''Teen Angst and the Green Flannel (with the Shillelaghs)'' (2012) *''Love and Streets'' (2012) *''Peace and Love and Dollar Pints'' (2019)


Plays

*'' Marcinkus'' *''The Last Thoughts of Gino Merli'' *''The Driveway'' *''Beckett and Ernie'' *''Spanish Lady: Reflections on 1918'' *''Fight Like Hell Till You Get to Heaven'' *''Screwing Agnes'' *''God Bless Roy Campagnella'' *''Mary on the Backboard'' *''Colorblind; The Katrina Monolouges'' *''Men Who Hug in Bars'' *''Hands in the Dark'' *''The Flying Girls''


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flannery, Tom American male singer-songwriters 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American folk musicians American film score composers American male film score composers Living people 1966 births Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers