Thom Bresh
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Thomas Charles Bresh (February 23, 1948 – May 23, 2022), sometimes spelled Tom Bresh, was an American country music guitarist and singer. Active from the 1970s, Bresh charted multiple singles on the '' Billboard''
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts.


Biography

Bresh was born on February 23, 1948, in
Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
, as the son of country singer Merle Travis. As a child, Bresh began acting in films and recording his own music. He also worked as a movie stuntman at the Corriganville Movie Ranch. In 1963, he was a member of the rock and roll band The Crescents featuring Chiyo when they recorded an instrumental track, "Pink Dominos". Producer Kim Foley issued this as a 45RPM single with "Breakout" on the B-side. "Pink Dominos" peaked at No. 69 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1964. He then released a solo single about D. B. Cooper which was withdrawn due to controversy over its subject matter. Starting in 1972, Bresh recorded for Kapp Records. His first charted single, "Home Made Love", made number six on the
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts in 1976. This was included on an album of the same name for Farr Records. Due to the song's success, Bresh was nominated by the Academy of Country Music as Top New Male Vocalist that year. Bresh recorded two albums for
ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...
as well: ''Kicked Back'' in 1977 and ''Portrait'' a year later, both produced by Jimmy Bowen. ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' magazine reviewed ''Kicked Back'' favorably, saying that Bresh had " perfectly mellow voice and vital tracks with excellent material and interpretation". '' Record World'' magazine published a positive review of ''Portrait'', calling the album "versatile" and noting the variety of musical influences. Included on ''Portrait'' was a cover of " Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" which featured Bresh performing thirteen different impersonations. Bresh hosted a weekly television variety show of his own creation, ''Nashville Swing'', was a regular on '' The Merv Griffin Show'' and '' Dinah!'', and made a guest appearance on the TNN special ''A Salute to the Country Greats''. As a producer, he has been employed by country legend Jerry Reed, classical guitarist Valerie DuChateau, and Merle Travis. As a videographer, Bresh has shot, produced, and edited projects for Hank Thompson, Lyle Lovett, Brooks & Dunn,
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
, Tanya Tucker, Merle Haggard and Jerry Reed. Bresh was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2021. He died in Nashville on May 23, 2022, at the age of 74.


Discography


Albums


Singles


References


External links


Official website

Pat Bovenizer Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2016) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bresh, Thom 1948 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians ABC Records artists American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from California Guitarists from California Singer-songwriters from California Musicians from Hollywood, Los Angeles Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States