Thomas Gerald Terrell (July 16, 1950 – November 29, 2007) was an American

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

, promoter, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

music reviewer. Born Thomas Gerald Terrell, and later known as Scooter, King Pleasure, and Tom T., he was a lifelong musicologist who recognized talent and trends long before they became popular, and, until his death from prostate cancer, worked to promote new acts in jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop, and world music.

Early years

Born in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

, Terrell was the only son of Zoma and Thomas C. Terrell.Schudel, Matt
"Tom Terrell, 57; Journalist Was Music Industry Fixture, Scholar"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', December 6, 2007. Accessed February 19, 2011. "Thomas Gerald Terrell was born July 16, 1950, in Summit, N.J., and developed an early interest in music because of his father, an amateur singer, and other close family musicians." He and his three sisters grew up in the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

section of

Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Union Township is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 59,728, an ...

, and he was educated in the Union Public School District. From an early age he exhibited a facility for music, art, reading and writing, traits that would define his life. A radio station kid, Terrell was mentored in his teens at WNJR by the late Sonny Taylor (an early black radio pioneer), and again later at

WMMJ WMMJ (102.3 FM), known on air as "Majic 102.3 & 92.7," is an urban oldies-leaning urban adult contemporary radio station owned by Urban One in the Washington, D.C. market. It is co-owned with WKYS, WOL, WPRS-FM and WYCB and has studios ...

, Washington, D.C. After graduating from Union High School, Terrell attended college at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where he was photographer for the campus newspaper, '' The Hilltop'', and the "

Bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

" annual, serving as a photo-editor for the 1973 volume. He graduated from Howard in 1972.

Professional life

He made his mark as a

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

and concert promoter, impacting the music scene as a programmer for WHFS and

WPFW WPFW (89.3 FM) is a public radio and jazz music community radio station, serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, wit studios located on K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The station's slogan is "Jazz and J ...

, and was an early force behind d.c. space, its non-profit offshoot, District Curators Inc., and the 9:30 Club. Blessed with a honey baritone "radio voice" and encyclopedic music knowledge, his pioneering radio shows included "Stolen Moments" on

, and "Sunday Reggae Splashdown" and "Café C'est What" on WHFS. His music journalism was carried in publications including the ''Unicorn Times'', the ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

'', ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'', ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'', '' Emerge'', ''

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

'', JAZZIZ, ''

Trace Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album), by Nell Other uses in arts and entertainment * ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Magazine, ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine, and ''Global Rhythms''. From 2005 until his death, Terrell reviewed music for ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. During much of the late 70s, he was frequently employed as a roadie for several touring national music acts (including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

). Terrell also spent many years doing promotion work for several record companies. Terrell was instrumental in masterminding the U.S. premiere of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

on the night of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

's funeral, which was broadcast live around the world from the 9:30 Club, 930 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1981, and he later served as their manager. Terrell wrote the liner notes for the six-c.d.

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

''On The Corner'' box set released in October 2007, which received rave reviews.

Death

A resident of Washington, D.C., Terrell died at the age of 57 on November 29, 2007, due to

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

at the Community Hospice of Washington.

Sources

References

, December 7, 2007 - published display advert celebrating "Tom T". * Biographical information, Memorial Service program, Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Howard University, 6th and Howard Place, N.W., Washington, D.C., December 8, 2007; Stewart Funeral Home, 4001 Benning Road, N.E., Washington, D.C. {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, Tom 1950 births 2007 deaths American music journalists Deaths from prostate cancer in Washington, D.C. Howard University alumni People from Summit, New Jersey People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey