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 s ...

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 ins ...

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 socie ...

, 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 U ...

'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

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Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

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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 ...

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and

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

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

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

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'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

album ''

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''. 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

's album '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'', joining his backing band,

Neverland Express Meat Loaf’s Neverland Express was the rotating backing band for the late American singer Meat Loaf. Band lineups 1977–78 (''Bat Out of Hell'') * Bob Kulick: lead guitars * Bruce Kulick: guitars * Steve Buslowe: bass, vocals * Jim Steinman ...

, touring for three years on the ''Everything Louder Tour''. He also recorded on Meat Loaf's album '' Welcome to the Neighborhood'', arranging and singing background vocals on most of the tracks. He went on to become

Music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

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'', 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 enti ...

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

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-choreographed musical based on

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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, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

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

Greg Hawkes Gregory A. Hawkes (born October 22, 1952) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band The Cars. Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, United States, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teet ...

as well as Todd Rundgren and

Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...

from Journey and

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. 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 Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul O. Williams (1935–2009), American science-fiction author and poet * Paul L. Williams (author) (born 1944), FBI consultant, journalist * Paul Williams (journalist) (1948–2013), American founder of mu ...

, 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 The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...

on 4 October 2015, headlined by

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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

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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 ...

. Sulton also led a singalong of the song on

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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

, Mickey Curry, Keith Scott,

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, Phil Thornalley and John Siegler.

Discography

* '' L''

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo recordings he has been a me ...

(1976, CBS Records) * '' Ra''

(1977, Bearsville Records) * ''

Oops! Wrong Planet ''Oops! Wrong Planet'' is the third studio album by American rock band Utopia. It delivers a markedly trimmed down, pop-oriented direction for the band following the progressively influenced previous album, '' Ra''. ''Oops!'' peaked at #77 on ...

(1977, Bearsville Records) * ''

(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 ''Deface the Music'' is the fifth studio album by the band Utopia. The concept of the album was to pay homage to The Beatles and create songs which sounded very similar to the Fab Four's tunes throughout the various stages of their career. Their ...

(1980, Bearsville Records) * ''Bad for Good'' Jim Steinman (1981, Epic Records) * '' Swing to the Right''

(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 Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense. Latin Etymology The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forke ...

(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 (1991 Virgin Records) * ''Rock and Roll Hero''

(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''

(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''

(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''

(2003) * ''Pushing Red Buttons'' Pushing Red Buttons (2003) * ''Back On Track'' Lulu (2004) * ''Bat Out of Hell Live''

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 Phil Thornalley (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