Tom Pomposello
Encyclopedia
Tom Pomposello was an American roots musician, notably playing and recording with country blues
musician Mississippi Fred McDowell
, who also worked as a cable television and advertising producer for clients like Nickelodeon
, Nick-at-Nite, and MTV
. He died in a car accident outside of Kingston, New York
in January 1999.
Born and educated on Long Island
, New York
, Pomposello had an early affinity towards music, eventually teaching himself the guitar
, bass guitar
, harmonica
, mandolin
, dulcimer
, and dobro
. Getting caught up in the pop music revolution that swept the world in the wake of The Beatles
, he had a particular interest in blues-based English bands like The Animals
and The Rolling Stones
, which led to a lifelong passion for American blues
.
After a brief thought of joining a seminary, Pomposello married young and had a son, Travis. Needing to earn a living without a college education, he teamed up with a close friend, Rob Witter, and opened a "hippie
" record store in Huntington, New York
. Emblematic of the times, the two named their business 'Kropotkin Records' (for anarchist Peter Kropotkin
), and it distinguished itself from other, similar stores of the era for avoiding the sale of marijuana paraphernalia and concentrated instead on its owners enthusiasm for the rise of the album era of music, rock and otherwise. Soon after the opening of the business, Pomposello earned his permanent stage name, “Honest” Tom Pomposello, when running for office as Huntington’s Receiver of Taxes.
Pomposello started flirting with the idea of recording his own music as early as 1970. He introduced himself to legendary country blues
musician Mississippi Fred McDowell
, which led to gigs as McDowell's bass guitarist in New York City, famously in November 1971, when the two were recorded live in concert at The Gaslight Cafe
for radio station WKCR
by host Fred Seibert
. The tapes eventually surfaced around the world on vinyl in 1972, when Pomposello and Seibert (with partner Dick Pennington) started Oblivion Records
. Originally conceived as a vehicle for Pomposello's music, the vision of the company expanded when the commercial potential of McDowell's final recording was considered.
Four Oblivion releases later (he also produced and played bass guitar on Blues from the Apple
) it was time for Pomposello’s first solo album. ‘’Honest Tom Pomposello’’ was an album that started out as a blues record and ended up as a true Americana roots recording. Ten tracks recorded over three years, in five locations, and various configurations of nine musicians, the music was a sweep of folk
, blues
, and R&B.
In the early 1980s, Pomposello melded his performance abilities with his extensive musical scholarship. He toured of New York public high schools, under the auspices of BOCES of New York State (Board of Cooperative Educational Services
), teaching students the history of American blues. Simultaneously, he taught music as a professor at Five Towns College
in Long Island
, New York
.
Blues
is an itinerant profession at best, and by 1984, Pomposello found himself employed in New York City
as a producer at Fred/Alan, Inc., the advertising agency started by former MTV executives Alan Goodman
and Fred Seibert
(also Tom’s partner in Oblivion Records). He was able to use his music skills as the soundtrack producer of the groundbreaking Nickelodeon network identifications. Adding animation and television production to his skills, he quickly produced hundreds of spots for Nickelodeon (many featuring The Jive Five
), Nick-at-Nite, as well as a music video with James Brown
and Afrika Bambaataa
for Fred/Alan’s client Tommy Boy Entertainment.
After leaving Fred/Alan in 1989, Pomposello incorporated as Pomposello Productions, concentrating on advertising and television branding, and to pursue personal projects.
Pomposello recorded several albums in various blues oriented styles, focusing on his custom made, Mandolin Brothers
dobro
playing. Simultaneously, he was rediscovering his spiritual roots through the nuns of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
, recording several CDs of their Gregorian chant
.
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
musician Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, who also worked as a cable television and advertising producer for clients like Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, Nick-at-Nite, and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. He died in a car accident outside of Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
in January 1999.
Born and educated on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pomposello had an early affinity towards music, eventually teaching himself the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, dulcimer
Appalachian dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
, and dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
. Getting caught up in the pop music revolution that swept the world in the wake of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, he had a particular interest in blues-based English bands like The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, which led to a lifelong passion for American blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
.
After a brief thought of joining a seminary, Pomposello married young and had a son, Travis. Needing to earn a living without a college education, he teamed up with a close friend, Rob Witter, and opened a "hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
" record store in Huntington, New York
Huntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
. Emblematic of the times, the two named their business 'Kropotkin Records' (for anarchist Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
), and it distinguished itself from other, similar stores of the era for avoiding the sale of marijuana paraphernalia and concentrated instead on its owners enthusiasm for the rise of the album era of music, rock and otherwise. Soon after the opening of the business, Pomposello earned his permanent stage name, “Honest” Tom Pomposello, when running for office as Huntington’s Receiver of Taxes.
Pomposello started flirting with the idea of recording his own music as early as 1970. He introduced himself to legendary country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
musician Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, which led to gigs as McDowell's bass guitarist in New York City, famously in November 1971, when the two were recorded live in concert at The Gaslight Cafe
The Gaslight Cafe
The Gaslight Cafe was an American coffee house located in the basement of 116 MacDougal Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York...
for radio station WKCR
WKCR
WKCR-FM is a radio station. Licensed to New York, New York, USA, it serves the New York area. The station is currently owned by Trustees of Columbia University in New York.-History:...
by host Fred Seibert
Fred Seibert
Frederick "Fred" Seibert is a television and film producer and entertainment entrepreneur who owns Frederator Studios, and who has held leading positions with MTV Networks, Hanna-Barbera, and Next New Networks; he owns Frederator Studios...
. The tapes eventually surfaced around the world on vinyl in 1972, when Pomposello and Seibert (with partner Dick Pennington) started Oblivion Records
Oblivion Records
Oblivion Records was an American independent record label that focused on under recorded blues and jazz musicians. The company was based in Huntington, New York and New York City and a post office box in Roslyn Heights, New York from 1972–1976....
. Originally conceived as a vehicle for Pomposello's music, the vision of the company expanded when the commercial potential of McDowell's final recording was considered.
Four Oblivion releases later (he also produced and played bass guitar on Blues from the Apple
Blues from the Apple
Blues from the Apple, released in 1974 by Oblivion Records, is the only album under the leadership of guitarist and vocalist Charles Walker. Featured players include New York City based musicians Lee Roy Little , Bill Dicey , 'Foxy' Ann Yancey , Larry Johnson , Tom Pomposello , Bobby King , and Ola...
) it was time for Pomposello’s first solo album. ‘’Honest Tom Pomposello’’ was an album that started out as a blues record and ended up as a true Americana roots recording. Ten tracks recorded over three years, in five locations, and various configurations of nine musicians, the music was a sweep of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and R&B.
In the early 1980s, Pomposello melded his performance abilities with his extensive musical scholarship. He toured of New York public high schools, under the auspices of BOCES of New York State (Board of Cooperative Educational Services
Board of Cooperative Educational Services
In 1948, the New York State Legislature created the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to provide school districts with a program of shared educational services.-History:...
), teaching students the history of American blues. Simultaneously, he taught music as a professor at Five Towns College
Five Towns College
Five Towns College is a for-profit institution of higher learning located in Dix Hills, Long Island, New York . Founded as a business school in 1972 by Stanley G. Cohen, Ed.D...
in Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
is an itinerant profession at best, and by 1984, Pomposello found himself employed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as a producer at Fred/Alan, Inc., the advertising agency started by former MTV executives Alan Goodman
Alan Goodman
Alan Goodman has played a key role in creating and launching many media brands since 1981, first in cable television and now for the internet and other platforms....
and Fred Seibert
Fred Seibert
Frederick "Fred" Seibert is a television and film producer and entertainment entrepreneur who owns Frederator Studios, and who has held leading positions with MTV Networks, Hanna-Barbera, and Next New Networks; he owns Frederator Studios...
(also Tom’s partner in Oblivion Records). He was able to use his music skills as the soundtrack producer of the groundbreaking Nickelodeon network identifications. Adding animation and television production to his skills, he quickly produced hundreds of spots for Nickelodeon (many featuring The Jive Five
The Jive Five
The Jive Five is an American doo wop group.The group formed in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1950s with Eugene Pitt, Jerome Hanna, Richard Harris, Thurmon Prophet, and Norman Johnson. The group found success in 1961 with "My True Story" on Beltone Records, which reached #3 on the U.S...
), Nick-at-Nite, as well as a music video with James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
for Fred/Alan’s client Tommy Boy Entertainment.
After leaving Fred/Alan in 1989, Pomposello incorporated as Pomposello Productions, concentrating on advertising and television branding, and to pursue personal projects.
Pomposello recorded several albums in various blues oriented styles, focusing on his custom made, Mandolin Brothers
Mandolin Brothers
Mandolin Brothers has been described as a New York City institution; it is a famous shop where vintage and high quality musical instruments are sold. Claire Wilson writing in the NY Times in 2001 described it as "a bustling little shop-cum-museum."...
dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
playing. Simultaneously, he was rediscovering his spiritual roots through the nuns of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
Abbey of Regina Laudis
The Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis was founded in 1947 by Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B. and Mother Mary Aline Trilles de Warren, O.S.B. in Bethlehem, Connecticut. This monastic foundation was one of the first houses of contemplative Benedictine nuns in the United States. Mother Benedict and...
, recording several CDs of their Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
.