Tommy & The Tom Toms (later known as The Bill Smith Combo) was an American musical group from 1959 to 1962 playing

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

, and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

History

The group first started with two guitars and drums, Eddie Wayne Hill on lead guitar, Leonard Walters on rhythm guitar and Joel Colbert on drums. The three fledgling musicians from

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, Texas began jamming in an old barn in 1959 and evolved to playing around town for private parties. This exposure led to regular Friday night appearances at a small, local lounge. Bass guitarist David A. Martin joined the group a few months later. The owner of the Guthrey Club in Dallas heard the band and hired them for an indefinite engagement. At Guthrey's, one of the largest rhythm and blues clubs in city, the band completed their personnel by adding Joe Donnell on sax and Tommy Brown as vocalist. The band was now complete and decided to change their name to Tommy & The Tom Toms. They soon became one of the top, and most imitated, dance bands in the DFW area and recorded numerous singles for noted Fort Worth producer

Major Bill Smith William Arthur Smith (January 21, 1922 – September 12, 1994),

. One of their best-selling records was an instrumental version of "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" issued by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

(#1773) in 1960 under the pseudonym of the Bill Smith Combo More Tom Toms recordings were soon released, including " Raunchy"/"Loco" issued by Chess (#1780) as the Bill Smith Combo, "Ptomaine"/"Snookie" issued by LeBill (#306) as the Bill Smith Combo, "Ptomaine"/"Heartbreak Hotel" issued by

Sparton Records Sparton Records was a Canadian record company which was based in London, Ontario. History Sparton Records was founded in 1930 by the American electronics company Sparks-Withington Corp., of Jackson, Michigan, which made Sparton radios. It manu ...

Canada (#4-857) as the Bill Smith Combo, "Anastasia"/"Tough" issued by LeBill (#303) as the Bill Smith Combo, "Souix"/"

Are You Lonesome Tonight "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (sometimes stylized as Are You Lonesome To-night?) is a song written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927, first by Charles Hart, but also with successful versions by Vaughn De ...

" issued by LeCamp (#1900) as Mr. Saks & The Blue Strings, "Tomahawk"/"

Kentucky Waltz "Kentucky Waltz" is a 1946 song written and performed by Bill Monroe. The song was Bill Monroe's most successful release on the Country & Western charts peaking at number three. Cover versions *In 1951 Eddy Arnold recorded his version of the son ...

" issued by Jaro International (#77023) as Tom Brown and The Tom Toms, "Tippin' In"/"Saints" issued by Duncan (#1003) as Tommy And The Tom Toms, "That Cat"/"Tell Me" issued by K&B (#101) as Tommy Brown, "Corsicana"/"The Den" issued by Rodeo Canada (#247) as The Tom Toms and "

The Waltz You Saved for Me "The Waltz You Saved for Me" is a popular song written in 1930 by Wayne King and Emil Flindt with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song soon became associated as the theme song of Wayne King and His Orchestra. Notable artists who have recorded the song in ...

"/"Big Blue Diamonds" issued by Maridene (#106) as

Gene Summers David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s " School of Rock 'n Roll", " Straight Skirt", " Nervous", " Gotta Lotta T ...

& Platinum Fog. During this time frame they also backed up

Freddy Fender Freddy Fender (born Baldemar Garza Huerta; June 4, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Country and Tejano singer, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados. His signature sound fused cou ...

on his Argo release "A Man Can Cry" b/w "You're Something Else For Me" (Argo No. 5375) plus several other

recordings including the much later Fender release of " Since I Met You Baby". After a successful years' stay at Guthrey's, the club owner, K.K. Hayles, signed the band to a personal management contract. For the next year the band backed-up numerous recording stars including

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

Mark Dinning Max Edward "Mark" Dinning (August 17, 1933 – March 22, 1986) was an American pop music singer. In February 1960, the song " Teen Angel", written by his sister Jean (Eugenia) and her husband Red Surrey, reached number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

, Jack Scott,

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

Bobby Hendricks Robert Raymond Hendricks (February 22, 1938 – March 25, 2022)

Skip & Flip Skip & Flip was a U.S. pop duo, consisting of Skip ( Clyde Battin) and Flip ( Gary S. Paxton). They met while attending the University of Arizona in the late 1950s. Career Once known as The Rockabillies, they recorded on Rev Records as The Pled ...

, Scotty McKay, The Carlos Brothers,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

, The Original Drifters and once staged a battle of the bands with

The Champs The Champs are an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila (The Champs song), Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by recording s ...

of "Tequila" fame. Due to the popularity of their recording of "Heartbreak Hotel" they officially changed the band's name to the Bill Smith Combo in 1960. Shortly after this fruitful musical period, Tommy Brown and the Tom Toms aka Bill Smith Combo decided to go their separate ways. Brown returned to his home state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the remainder of the Tom Toms, now without a singer and frontman, became the backing band for

entertainer

, the new band being known as Gene Summers & The Tom Toms. This group continued with numerous line-up changes before finally splitting up in 1965. Dave Martin went on to join Sam Samudio's band, which became

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs Domingo Samudio (born February 28, 1937), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham is known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon ...

, while Eddie Hill was killed in a car crash just south of

Decatur, Texas Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,538 in 2020. History Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor of Zachary Taylor) was made the county seat. Absalom Bishop, an early s ...

in early 1962.

References

Other sources

* "Reba: My Story: by Reba Mcentire (published by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

, 1994 United States (pages 56–57). * ''Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey'' by Billy Poore (published by

Hal Leonard Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

1998) United States * ''The International Who's Who in Popular Music'' 2002 by Andy Gregory (Published by Routledge 2002, United States) * ''The Handbook Of Texas Online'' (c)Texas State Historical Association (published at The University Of Texas at Austin) 2007, United States (

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

) * ''Official Price Guide To Records'' by Jerry Osborne (published by House of Collectibles) United States * Chess Records Discography (online) United States * ''Texas Music'' by Rick Koster (published by St. Martin's Press USA 2000) United States *

Jamie Records Jamie Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956 by Harold Lipsius (1913–2007) and Allan Sussel (1924–2003). Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great to Fall in Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso, was issued in 1956. Th ...

Discography (online) United States *

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...

Artist Roster (online) United States * Charay Records Discography (online) United States *

Alta Records ''Alta Records'' was a record label founded in Dallas, Texas in the early 1960s by radio personality Jim Lowe. Lowe was a DJ who hosted a rhythm and blues program "Kat's Karavan" from the WRR-AM studios. He was one of the first DJs in the Southw ...

Discography United States *

W&G Records W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie. W&G released many significant recordings by Australian popular a ...

artists Australia * ''Who's Who In The South And Southwest'' (published by

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

In America 1984-1985 Edition) United States * Article and sessionography in issue 15 (1977) of New Kommotion Magazine UK * Article and sessionography in issue 23 (1980) of New Kommotion Magazine UK * Feature article and sessionography in issue 74 (1999) of Rockin' Fifties Magazine Germany * Feature article with photo spread in issue 53 (2000) of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine United States * Feature Article with photo spread in issue 54 (2000) of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Tommy and The Tom Toms 1959 establishments in Texas 1962 disestablishments in Texas American rockabilly music groups Musical groups from Dallas American rhythm and blues musical groups Musical groups established in 1959 Musical groups disestablished in 1962 Chess Records artists Jamie Records artists