Tommy Shannon
Encyclopedia
Tommy Shannon is an American bass guitarist best known as a member of the blues-rock
group Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (1980 to 1990) and as an early bass player in Johnny Winter
's band.
, and moved to west Texas when he was nine. He grew up mainly in Dumas, Texas
, north of Amarillo on Highway 287. Shannon joined his first band, The Avengers, around age 13. The band members were Shannon (guitar), Tim Easley (vocals), Jim Love (guitar) and David Davis (drums). It would be a while before they realized the importance of the bass guitar, but eventually Shannon did. Their first gig paid them $80. That excited them so much, they gave half their paycheck back.
In high school Shannon was in the band Ekos. Soon after high school he moved to Dallas and joined a soul cover band in 1966, initially called The New Breed, and later The Young Lads. Shannon recorded two 45s with this band, which featured Tim Easly on vocals and Uncle John Turner on drums.
. Shannon ended up backing Winter, and they formed a project known as The Progressive Blues Experiment
in 1968. They cut one album just before being signed to Columbia Records
by Clive Davis
for $600,000 in 1969. At Woodstock, Johnny's brother Edgar
joined them onstage. Johnny Winter ended up moving to a band featuring Rick Derringer
in early 1970 that already had a rhythm section, and there was no room for Shannon or Turner. They landed in a San Francisco band called Krakerjack that comprised Uncle John Turner, drums; Mike Kindred, piano; Shannon, bass; Bruce Bowland, vocals; and John Stahely, guitar. According to Tommy's website, Stevie Ray Vaughan
, known as "Skeeter," was part of this band in its later Austin incarnation, along with Robin Syler on guitar. Krakerjack apparently remained a group from 1970 to 1971.
During the 1970s, Shannon became involved with drugs, and began a cycle of jail, probation and rehab that would last for some time. He played with the Austin band The Fools briefly. Due to recurring drug arrests and failure of rehab in San Antonio and other locations, Shannon was finally sent to a "farm" in Buda
and, as a result of his probation on release, he was not allowed join a band because of the pervasiveness of drugs in the music scene. Shannon became a bricklayer for a few years until he was eventually able to return to music in 1977. He played in a few unknown bands, then received a call from Rocky Hill
, brother of ZZ Top
's Dusty Hill
. He moved to Houston to play with Hill and Uncle John, and in the late 1970s went on to play with Alan Haynes
in the "Texas Boogie Band" (Shannon later played on Haynes' well received 1994 release, "Wishing Well"). Shannon also toured, opening for Bachman–Turner Overdrive and for KISS
at the Warehouse in New Orleans.
", for instance), and was then offered the chance to tour with Bowie. Ultimately, Vaughan turned down the offer. Vaughan, Shannon and drummer Chris Layton would stay together as Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble—and become one of the most famous blues bands of all time.
After joining Double Trouble, Shannon met his future wife Kumi and they eventually married in 1986. He had returned to ever-increasing drug use, this time with the band leader. Eventually both realized that they wouldn't last if that lifestyle continued, so they checked into rehabilitation in separate cities and both became clean and sober. Things seemed like they couldn't be better, with the band being healthier, making popular music, and gaining fame and fortune—until the helicopter carrying Vaughan crashed into a hillside after a show at Alpine Valley Music Theater, near East Troy, Wisconsin
, on August 27, 1990, and all aboard died.
and Chris Layton in The Mighty Zor. Shannon was asked by The Rolling Stones
to audition to replace Bill Wyman
, but did not get the role. Other notable projects included the Arc Angels
with Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton, and Storyville
with Malford Milligan
. He toured with Susan Tedeschi
and, along with Chris Layton, toured & recorded with Kenny Wayne Shepherd
. He and Layton played on Jimmy D. Lane's "It's Time". He has played with other notable musicians including Eric Clapton
, The Rolling Stones, Little Richard
, Hubert Sumlin
, Mike McCready
, Johnny Lang, Buddy Guy
, Jimmie Vaughan
, Eric Johnson
, David Grissom, Mato Nanji, Jeff Beck, Lou Gramm and John Mayer.
In 2001, Double Trouble
reformed, releasing their only album without Vaughan. Titled "Been a Long Time", it featured many guest performers (including Tedeschi) filling Vaughan's frontman role.
His primary bass was a battered Arctic White 1962 Fender Jazz Bass
with a red tortoise shell pickguard. He has been seen playing Yamaha BB's, Music Man StingRay
s, other Fender Precision
and Jazz basses (mostly American, American Deluxe
and Custom Shop
models) and custom Fodera
basses.
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
group Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (1980 to 1990) and as an early bass player in Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
's band.
Biography
Shannon was born in Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, and moved to west Texas when he was nine. He grew up mainly in Dumas, Texas
Dumas, Texas
Dumas is a city in Moore County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,747 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Moore County. Located approximately fifty miles north of Amarillo, the city is named for...
, north of Amarillo on Highway 287. Shannon joined his first band, The Avengers, around age 13. The band members were Shannon (guitar), Tim Easley (vocals), Jim Love (guitar) and David Davis (drums). It would be a while before they realized the importance of the bass guitar, but eventually Shannon did. Their first gig paid them $80. That excited them so much, they gave half their paycheck back.
In high school Shannon was in the band Ekos. Soon after high school he moved to Dallas and joined a soul cover band in 1966, initially called The New Breed, and later The Young Lads. Shannon recorded two 45s with this band, which featured Tim Easly on vocals and Uncle John Turner on drums.
Early career
Shannon had the first of two important meetings at The Fog in Dallas in the late 1960s. There he first saw Johnny WinterJohnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
. Shannon ended up backing Winter, and they formed a project known as The Progressive Blues Experiment
The Progressive Blues Experiment
The Progressive Blues Experiment is the first album by Johnny Winter. The Progressive Blues Experiment was originally issued on Austin's famous Sonobeat Records label in 1968. When Winter signed to Columbia Records, the rights were sold to Imperial Records who reissued the album in 1969. Johnny...
in 1968. They cut one album just before being signed to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
by Clive Davis
Clive Davis
Clive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
for $600,000 in 1969. At Woodstock, Johnny's brother Edgar
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
joined them onstage. Johnny Winter ended up moving to a band featuring Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
in early 1970 that already had a rhythm section, and there was no room for Shannon or Turner. They landed in a San Francisco band called Krakerjack that comprised Uncle John Turner, drums; Mike Kindred, piano; Shannon, bass; Bruce Bowland, vocals; and John Stahely, guitar. According to Tommy's website, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, known as "Skeeter," was part of this band in its later Austin incarnation, along with Robin Syler on guitar. Krakerjack apparently remained a group from 1970 to 1971.
During the 1970s, Shannon became involved with drugs, and began a cycle of jail, probation and rehab that would last for some time. He played with the Austin band The Fools briefly. Due to recurring drug arrests and failure of rehab in San Antonio and other locations, Shannon was finally sent to a "farm" in Buda
Buda, Texas
Buda is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,404 at the 2000 census. City leaders estimated the population exceeded 5,100 in 2008 and the official 2009 Census Bureau estimate showed the population had increased to 7,784 as of July 1, 2009. The 2010 US Census listed...
and, as a result of his probation on release, he was not allowed join a band because of the pervasiveness of drugs in the music scene. Shannon became a bricklayer for a few years until he was eventually able to return to music in 1977. He played in a few unknown bands, then received a call from Rocky Hill
Rocky Hill (musician)
Rocky Hill was a blues guitarist, singer, and bassist from Dallas, Texas in the United States. Hill was the older brother of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill.-Biography:...
, brother of ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
's Dusty Hill
Dusty Hill
Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
. He moved to Houston to play with Hill and Uncle John, and in the late 1970s went on to play with Alan Haynes
Alan Haynes
Alan Haynes , born in Houston, Texas, is an American Texas Blues guitarist. Alan has been playing professionally since the 1970s and has performed with a variety of Blues legends that include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Albert King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds , Robert Cray,...
in the "Texas Boogie Band" (Shannon later played on Haynes' well received 1994 release, "Wishing Well"). Shannon also toured, opening for Bachman–Turner Overdrive and for KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
at the Warehouse in New Orleans.
With Stevie Ray Vaughan
Shannon moved between Dallas and Austin, and saw Stevie Ray Vaughan at The Fog with Vaughan's group Blackbird. Vaughan later formed a group called Double Trouble, and in 1980 Shannon wound up taking the place of the bass player, Jackie Newhouse, after seeing Double Trouble at Rockefellers in Houston. The group could have been short-lived—Vaughan was tapped to do some guitar tracks for David Bowie (the haunting guitar on "Let's DanceLet's Dance (David Bowie song)
"Let's Dance" is the title album track on David Bowie's album Let's Dance. It was also released as the first single from that album in 1983, and went on to become one of his biggest-selling tracks....
", for instance), and was then offered the chance to tour with Bowie. Ultimately, Vaughan turned down the offer. Vaughan, Shannon and drummer Chris Layton would stay together as Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble—and become one of the most famous blues bands of all time.
After joining Double Trouble, Shannon met his future wife Kumi and they eventually married in 1986. He had returned to ever-increasing drug use, this time with the band leader. Eventually both realized that they wouldn't last if that lifestyle continued, so they checked into rehabilitation in separate cities and both became clean and sober. Things seemed like they couldn't be better, with the band being healthier, making popular music, and gaining fame and fortune—until the helicopter carrying Vaughan crashed into a hillside after a show at Alpine Valley Music Theater, near East Troy, Wisconsin
East Troy, Wisconsin
East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,564 at the 2000 census. The village is located southeast of the Town of East Troy. A small portion extends into the adjacent Town of Troy...
, on August 27, 1990, and all aboard died.
Later career
After a period of mourning, Shannon's musical career would eventually continue. He played with Doyle Bramhall, Denny FreemanDenny Freeman
Denny Freeman is an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman has also played piano and electric organ, both in concert and on various recordings...
and Chris Layton in The Mighty Zor. Shannon was asked by 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...
to audition to replace Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
, but did not get the role. Other notable projects included the Arc Angels
Arc Angels
Arc Angels are a blues rock band formed in Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. The band was composed of guitarist and singers Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton and two former members of Stevie Ray Vaughan's band Double Trouble, drummer Chris Layton. and bassist Tommy Shannon...
with Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton, and Storyville
Storyville (band)
Storyville was a blues-rock band formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas, USA. Drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, former members of Arc Angels and the rhythm section for Stevie Ray Vaughan's band Double Trouble, formed the band with Malford Milligan after a jam session at Antone's...
with Malford Milligan
Malford Milligan
Malford Milligan is an American Austin, Texas-based soul, blues and rock singer who has been compared to Otis Redding and Al Green.-Early life:...
. He toured with Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi is an American blues and soul musician, who has received multiple Grammy Award nominations, and is well-known for her singing voice, guitar playing, stage presence, and marriage to blues guitarist Derek Trucks...
and, along with Chris Layton, toured & recorded with Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.-Biography:Shepherd graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana...
. He and Layton played on Jimmy D. Lane's "It's Time". He has played with other notable musicians including Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, The Rolling Stones, Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
, Mike McCready
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Dave Krusen, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
, Johnny Lang, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
, Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, David Grissom, Mato Nanji, Jeff Beck, Lou Gramm and John Mayer.
In 2001, Double Trouble
Double Trouble (band)
Double Trouble was the backing rhythm section for Texas blues rock guitarist and lead vocalist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Originally consisting of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans would later join the outfit on keyboards.-History:...
reformed, releasing their only album without Vaughan. Titled "Been a Long Time", it featured many guest performers (including Tedeschi) filling Vaughan's frontman role.
His primary bass was a battered Arctic White 1962 Fender Jazz Bass
Fender Jazz Bass
The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
with a red tortoise shell pickguard. He has been seen playing Yamaha BB's, Music Man StingRay
Music Man StingRay
Music Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976.- History :In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own venture. First known as Tri-Sonic and then later...
s, other Fender Precision
Fender Precision Bass
The Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
and Jazz basses (mostly American, American Deluxe
Fender American Deluxe Series
The Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of middle-range electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004 and again in 2010.The American Deluxe line replaced the Plus Series models of 1987....
and Custom Shop
Fender Custom Shop
The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments, housed within their headquarters complex in Corona, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop primarily exists to compete with smaller companies and independent luthiers that, in turn, build products reminiscent of those...
models) and custom Fodera
Fodera
Fodera is an American manufacturer of electric bass guitars. Fodera Basses are made in the Fodera Shop in Brooklyn, New York. Vinnie Fodera and Joey Lauricella started their own company around 1983 after dissolving their working relationship with Ken Smith Basses. The company also manufactures a...
basses.