Thomas Jay Hambridge (born December 20, 1960) is an American rock,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, producer, songwriter, musician drummer and vocalist. Hambridge has received two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, an ASCAP award, seven Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music Awards, and has been inducted into the Buffalo Hall of Fame. In December 2015, Hambridge was given the key to his hometown of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

with Mayor

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayo ...

declaring December 28 "Tom Hambridge Day." Hambridge's songs have been recorded by several notable artists and have been featured in movie productions, commercials and television programs. He has been referred to as "The White

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

" by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

and

Susan Tedeschi Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks' band, and other musicians. Ea ...

's "Secret Weapon".

Biography

Born and raised in

, Hambridge began learning the drums at the age of 5. He played his first paying gig, a bar mitzvah, in third grade. Throughout his school years, Hambridge played in garage bands, his high school orchestra and jazz band. After graduating from high school in 1979, he received a scholarship at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Tom Hambridge Drums

He received his degree in Professional Music in 1983. After graduation, he worked for three years as drummer and lead singer for the blues guitarist Roy Buchanan. While working with Buchanan, Hambridge contributed as a musician on Buchanan's release, ''Live: Amazing Grace''. In the meantime, he formed the band "T.H. and the Wreckage". In 1988, the band released ''Born to Rock,'' one of several independent, self-produced albums Hambridge has completed. ''Born To Rock'' was the first of the many

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston (band), ...

he has received. In the meantime, he assisted promoters assemble backup bands for artists such as

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 19 ...

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 ...

, Gary Puckett, and

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll and doo-wop revival group formed in 1969. The group performed a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs that both revived and parodied the music and the New York City street culture of the 1 ...

. Hambridge released his own album ''Still Running'' in 1996. In 1997, he produced

's '' Just Won't Burn''. Hambridge wrote Tedeschi's Top 10 hits "Rock Me Right" and "It Hurt So Bad". In the meantime, he also released his own album ''Balderdash'' in 2000. Hambridge received a subsequent 2004 Grammy nomination (

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album was awarded from 1988 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Contemporary Blues Performance and in 1989 was awarded to a song rather than to an album. The award was ...

) for his contributions on

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

's release ''I'm A Bluesman'' ("Cheatin' Blues" and "Lone Wolf"). Shortly thereafter, Hambridge released his album ''Bang N' Roll'' (2004) and the album ''Live'' (2007). In 2008, he received Grammy nominations (

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album was awarded from 1983 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Traditional Blues Performance and was twice awarded to individual tracks rather than albums. The award ...

) for his work on

's '' Skin Deep''. ''Skin Deep'' debuted at number 68 on the ''Billboard'' 200 which was the highest position of any of Guy's previous albums, and was number 1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. Hambridge released his own album ''Boogieman'' (2009). In 2011, he won the

for co-writing and producing

's album '' Living Proof''. He was credited as the producer, songwriter and percussionist for George Thorogood and the Destroyers 2011 release '' 2120 South Michigan Ave.'', which included the song "Going Back" that reached number 1 on Classic Rock Radio. Also in 2011, he wrote and produced B. B. King and

's duet "Stay Around A Little Longer." Other recognized 2011 successes include writing/co-writing all songs on Quinn Sullivan's release ''Cyclone'' (2011, number 7 on the Billboard Blues chart, July 30, 2011). Later in 2013, Hambridge would do the same on Quinn Sullivan's release ''Getting There'', which charted at 38 on the Billboard Blues Chart. In 2015, Hambridge earned his second Grammy Award for Best Blues Album for his contributions as a musician, producer, composer and mixer on

's Born to Play Guitar. In 2016, Hambridge produced

Mike Zito Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooto ...

's album, ''Make Blues Not War'', which debuted at number 1 on the

Billboard Chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

on December 10, 2016 and earned his seventh

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Nomination for his production work on

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

. Hambridge's songs and productions have appeared on a variety of television shows, movies and commercials. These include "It Hurt's So Bad" (

) on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's ''Austin City Limits'', ''Autumn Hearts'',

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's ''Born To Diva'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

'', and ''The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn''. In addition, "Rock Me Right" (Susan Tedeschi) appeared in ''Autumn Hearts'', '' David Letterman Show'', ''NASCAR Rocks II'' (1999), and '' Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas''. "I Fell in Love" (Susan Tedeschi) appeared on the ''Bug'' soundtrack. Plus, "Road Trip" and "I Got A New Car" (Tom Hambridge) appeared in the movie ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

''. "Flying By" (

Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...

) appeared in the film, ''Flying By''. Hambridge has performed multiple times at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. On February 21, 2012, he joined

, Keb Mo,

, Derek Trucks,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, B. B. King and others in a performance for the White House's "Red, White and Blues" Black History Month celebration concert. During the performance, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

provided a brief history of the Blues and accompanied the group during the song " Sweet Home Chicago". On October 14, 2015, Hambridge returned to the

with

, Marty Sammon,

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is a musician, most notably a trombone player, from New Orleans, Louisiana. His music fuses rock, pop, jazz, funk, and hip hop. Biography Andrews was one of s ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a ...

, Keb Mo,

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

and others for "A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Credits as leader

Credits as contributing artist

References

External links

*
Discography at ''Billboard'' MagazineASCAP – Tom Hambridge Registered Songs and Additional InformationAllMusic Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambridge, Tom 1960 births Living people American blues singers American country singer-songwriters American blues drummers Grammy Award winners Musicians from Buffalo, New York Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Berklee College of Music alumni Record producers from New York (state) 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Country musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Drummers from New York (state)