Tonio K
Encyclopedia
Tonio K. is an American singer/songwriter who has released eight albums. His songs have been recorded by Al Green
, Aaron Neville
, Burt Bacharach
, Bonnie Raitt
, Chicago
, Wynonna Judd
and Vanessa Williams
. His song, “16 Tons Of Monkeys,” co-written with guitarist Steve Schiff, was the featured tune in the 1992 Academy Award winning Short Film, Session Man. He worked with Bacharach and Hip-Hop impresario Dr. Dre
on Bacharach’s At This Time, which won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Recording in 2005.
at San Francisco’s Fillmore
Auditorium as being like “the Three Stooges
playing strip poker with Iggy and the Stooges.” A full-length album by the band, Sewer Rat Love Chant, was eventually issued on Sundazed Records in 2003.
In the early 1970s, Krikorian recorded two albums with Buddy Holly's
original band, The Crickets
. The group consisted of founding members J.I. Allison
and Sonny Curtis, plus Rick Grech (Blind Faith
, Traffic
) and Albert Lee
(Heads, Hands and Feet, Eric Clapton
) and the Raik’s Nick van Maarth who would later join California rock ensemble Wha-Koo
. Remnants (1973) and A Long Way from Lubbock (1974) were produced by long-time Holly and Cricket cohort, Bob Montgomery
. In 2004, Krikorian reunited with the Crickets for a track on their star-studded (Eric Clapton
, Graham Nash
, Phil Everly) album, The Crickets and Their Buddies, singing lead on the Holly classic, "Not Fade Away."
In 1978, Krikorian went solo with Life in the Foodchain on Irving Azoff’s
Full Moon/Epic label. Adopting the moniker Tonio K., a reference to the writings of Kafka and Thomas Mann
, he was hailed as America’s answer to Britain’s Angry Young Men
(Elvis Costello
, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker
) and the “funniest serious songwriter in America.” The record was produced by Rob Fraboni (The Band
, Bob Dylan
, Joe Cocker
) and featured a supporting cast that included Earl Slick
, Garth Hudson
, Dick Dale
and Albert Lee
. It was also the first Pop/Rock record to feature the percussive sounds of an AK-47 firing live ammunition. The album garnered much critical acclaim, most famously from Steve Simels at “Stereo Review
” who proclaimed it "the greatest album ever recorded" and established K. as an artist to watch.
K.’s follow-up album, Amerika (Cars, Guitars and Teenage Violence), was released in 1980 by Full Moon (this time via Clive Davis’s Arista Records). Filled with literary and political references, the album was hailed as “Punk for academics” and once again pronounced by Simels to be “the greatest record ever recorded” (as was every ensuing Tonio K. disc). Unfortunately, critical acclaim did not lead to commercial success and it was at this point that K. reports he “committed suicide for the first time.”
After a move to Capitol Records in 1982, K. recorded a five-song 12-inch EP La Bomba, a live-in-the-studio album produced by Carter (Motels, Tina Turner, Paula Cole). Recorded in the famous Capitol Studio B, it featured K.’s touring band: George “Geo” Conner (guitar), Alfredo Acosta Alwag (drums), and Enrique “Eric” Gotthelf (bass). The song "Mars Needs Women" also appears on this EP.
Tonio next released Romeo Unchained on What?/A&M Records. Hailed by “Rolling Stone” magazine as “the best Bob Dylan album since Dylan himself lost interest in the Pop song form,” the album landed on numerous critics’ Top 10 Albums of the Year lists. Recorded during 1985 and 1986, it was produced, variously, by Rick Neigher
, Bob Rose (Julian Lennon
) and T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows
, Wallflowers, Robert Plant
& Alison Krauss
). The musicians on these recordings included Neigher
(on many instruments), Rose, Burnett, Peter Banks (Yes
), David Mansfield, David Miner, David Raven, Tim Pierce, Tim Chandler
, and Rob Watson
.
Notes From The Lost Civilization, again on What?/A&M, followed in 1988. It was concurrently released on the Word label, a gospel/Christian music subsidiary of A&M; reportedly, the Word version of the release did not include the song "I Know What Women Want" (presumably for the lyric " . . . they want sex, yeah that's true" although the point of the song is that women want love). Produced by Tonio K. and David Miner
, with T Bone Burnett serving as Executive Producer, the all-star cast of supporting musicians included Burnett, Booker T. Jones on Hammond B-3, Jim Keltner
, Raymond Pounds and Alex Acuña
on drums and percussion, James Jamerson, Jr.
and David Miner
on bass, and Charlie Sexton
and Jack Sherman on additional guitars. The video for the single, “Without Love,” marked Tonio’s first airplay on MTV.
Olé was Tonio K.’s final record for A&M. Recorded in 1989 and 1990, it didn’t see release until 1997 on Gadfly Records. (The reasons for this are well documented in the liner notes to the CD.) It was produced by T Bone Burnett and David Miner
with a core band consisting of Marc Ribot, Booker T. Jones, David Raven and Bruce Thomas (Attractions
). Additional guitarists included Jack Sherman, Charlie Sexton, Rusty Anderson, Los Lobos
' David Hidalgo and The Replacements' Paul Westerberg. The refusal of A&M to release the record at the time precipitated, in Tonio’s words, “my second suicide.” Although Olé was K.’s last major label recording, several other compilation and live CDs have been issued (see discography below).
and Brian McKnight
. It was a #1 Pop and AC (Adult Contemporary) radio single and one of the most-played songs of 1993. (K. has been quoted as saying that his first choice for vocalist on the song was the famously gruff-voiced Tom Waits
). He also co-wrote, with Bob Thiele, Jr.
and John Shanks
, the Bonnie Raitt
AC hit, “You.”
Tonio and close friend Charlie Sexton
have written many (mostly unreleased) songs since Sexton first recorded K.’s “Impressed” and “You Don’t Belong Here” on his debut album, Pictures for Pleasure, in 1985. “Graceland (Never Been To),” opening track to the Quentin Tarantino-written and Tony Scott-directed movie True Romance, is one of their more notable, albeit obscure, cuts. K. was involved in writing six songs on Sexton’s Arc Angels debut on Geffen Records. He also co-wrote with Sexton for his Under the Wishing Tree release on MCA.
Tonio K. is almost certainly the only person to have written lyrics for both Steve Jones
of the Sex Pistols
and Burt Bacharach
. In addition to several years of collaborating with Bacharach, Tonio co-wrote eight of the nine vocal tracks on the aforementioned Grammy-winning CD, At This Time.
Tonio K. film credits include “Nobody Lives Without Love,” co-written with musician/writer/producer Larry Klein
(Joni Mitchell
, Herbie Hancock
) and featured on the multi-platinum-selling soundtrack to Batman Forever
; the quasi-Disco semi-hit, “I’m Supposed To Have Sex With You,” from the Carl Reiner
film Summer School
; “Stop The Clock,” co-written with T Bone Burnett for the early Vince Vaughn
/Joaquin Phoenix
/Janeane Garofalo
vehicle, Clay Pigeons
; the above mentioned “Graceland” from True Romance
; and his song "The Tuff Do What?" from 1985's movie Real Genius
. 2002's Van Wilder featuring Ryan Reynolds
... song called Okay written with the band Swirl 360
.
Tonio K.’s first known “cover” was a song called “Hey John,” recorded by Johnny Rivers
in 1972, but never released. In addition to the cuts mentioned above, he was written with and for Brian Wilson
, Al Green
, Bette Midler
, The Pointer Sisters, Tanya Tucker
, Diane Schuur
, Percy Sledge
, Phoebe Snow, Jules Shear, The Runaways, Patty Smyth
, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Italian superstar, Richard Cocciante. His most recent cover is by Irma Thomas
on her upcoming Rounder Records CD, and he is currently in the studio writing with pedal steel prodigy Robert Randolph for a record being produced by T Bone Burnett.
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
, Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna. Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds...
and Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
. His song, “16 Tons Of Monkeys,” co-written with guitarist Steve Schiff, was the featured tune in the 1992 Academy Award winning Short Film, Session Man. He worked with Bacharach and Hip-Hop impresario Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
on Bacharach’s At This Time, which won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Recording in 2005.
Recording and Performing Artist
As a teenager, Krikorian, along with friends Alan Shapazian, Steve Olson, Nick van Maarth, and Duane Scott, formed a surf-funk/psychedelic-punk band called The Raik's Progress, which recorded a single for Liberty Records, released in 1966. Known for their Dadaist-inspired between-song routines, one reviewer described their performance while opening for Buffalo SpringfieldBuffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
at San Francisco’s Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
Auditorium as being like “the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
playing strip poker with Iggy and the Stooges.” A full-length album by the band, Sewer Rat Love Chant, was eventually issued on Sundazed Records in 2003.
In the early 1970s, Krikorian recorded two albums with Buddy Holly's
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
original band, The Crickets
The Crickets
The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....
. The group consisted of founding members J.I. Allison
Jerry Allison
J.I. Allison is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue"....
and Sonny Curtis, plus Rick Grech (Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
) and Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
(Heads, Hands and Feet, 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...
) and the Raik’s Nick van Maarth who would later join California rock ensemble Wha-Koo
Wha-Koo
Wha-Koo was an American rock band best known for their 1978 single, "You're Such a Fabulous Dancer", an international hit from their critically acclaimed album, "Berkshire".-History:...
. Remnants (1973) and A Long Way from Lubbock (1974) were produced by long-time Holly and Cricket cohort, Bob Montgomery
Bob Montgomery (musician)
Bob Montgomery is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer/publisher.Montgomery was born in Lampasas, Texas. He was a songwriting partner and best friend of Buddy Holly, performing together as the duo "Buddy and Bob" while teenagers in high school...
. In 2004, Krikorian reunited with the Crickets for a track on their star-studded (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...
, Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
, Phil Everly) album, The Crickets and Their Buddies, singing lead on the Holly classic, "Not Fade Away."
In 1978, Krikorian went solo with Life in the Foodchain on Irving Azoff’s
Irving Azoff
Irving Azoff is an American personal manager, representing recording artists in the music industry such as Christina Aguilera, Journey, Jewel, the Eagles, X Japan, Bush, REO Speedwagon, Seal, David Archuleta, Alter Bridge, Van Halen, 30 Seconds to Mars, Neil Diamond, New Kids on the Block, Steely...
Full Moon/Epic label. Adopting the moniker Tonio K., a reference to the writings of Kafka and Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
, he was hailed as America’s answer to Britain’s Angry Young Men
Angry young men
The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis.The phrase was originally coined by the Royal Court Theatre's press officer to promote John...
(Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
) and the “funniest serious songwriter in America.” The record was produced by Rob Fraboni (The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
) and featured a supporting cast that included Earl Slick
Earl Slick
Earl Slick is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, Jim Diamond and Robert Smith, although he has also worked with other artists , John Waite, and even released some solo recordings.In the early 1970s, Earl Slick gained his...
, Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson
Eric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
, Dick Dale
Dick Dale
Dick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...
and Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
. It was also the first Pop/Rock record to feature the percussive sounds of an AK-47 firing live ammunition. The album garnered much critical acclaim, most famously from Steve Simels at “Stereo Review
Stereo Review
Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...
” who proclaimed it "the greatest album ever recorded" and established K. as an artist to watch.
K.’s follow-up album, Amerika (Cars, Guitars and Teenage Violence), was released in 1980 by Full Moon (this time via Clive Davis’s Arista Records). Filled with literary and political references, the album was hailed as “Punk for academics” and once again pronounced by Simels to be “the greatest record ever recorded” (as was every ensuing Tonio K. disc). Unfortunately, critical acclaim did not lead to commercial success and it was at this point that K. reports he “committed suicide for the first time.”
After a move to Capitol Records in 1982, K. recorded a five-song 12-inch EP La Bomba, a live-in-the-studio album produced by Carter (Motels, Tina Turner, Paula Cole). Recorded in the famous Capitol Studio B, it featured K.’s touring band: George “Geo” Conner (guitar), Alfredo Acosta Alwag (drums), and Enrique “Eric” Gotthelf (bass). The song "Mars Needs Women" also appears on this EP.
Tonio next released Romeo Unchained on What?/A&M Records. Hailed by “Rolling Stone” magazine as “the best Bob Dylan album since Dylan himself lost interest in the Pop song form,” the album landed on numerous critics’ Top 10 Albums of the Year lists. Recorded during 1985 and 1986, it was produced, variously, by Rick Neigher
Rick Neigher
Rick Neigher is a prolific producer, songwriter, musician and backing vocalist. More recently he has been working as a "strategic account executive" in the marketing, advertising and on-line media industries....
, Bob Rose (Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
) and T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
, Wallflowers, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
& Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
). The musicians on these recordings included Neigher
Rick Neigher
Rick Neigher is a prolific producer, songwriter, musician and backing vocalist. More recently he has been working as a "strategic account executive" in the marketing, advertising and on-line media industries....
(on many instruments), Rose, Burnett, Peter Banks (Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
), David Mansfield, David Miner, David Raven, Tim Pierce, Tim Chandler
Tim Chandler
Tim Chandler is a bass guitar player, best known for his work with the rock bands Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies and The Choir....
, and Rob Watson
Rob Watson
Robert D. Watson is a keyboard player, producer and composer best known for his work with the rock bands Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies...
.
Notes From The Lost Civilization, again on What?/A&M, followed in 1988. It was concurrently released on the Word label, a gospel/Christian music subsidiary of A&M; reportedly, the Word version of the release did not include the song "I Know What Women Want" (presumably for the lyric " . . . they want sex, yeah that's true" although the point of the song is that women want love). Produced by Tonio K. and David Miner
David Miner (musician)
David Miner , sometimes credited as David Minor, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as a member of Grace Slick's The Great Society in the 1960s. He actually co-founded The Great Society along with Jerry, Darby, and Grace Slick as well as Bard Du Pont, in the sense...
, with T Bone Burnett serving as Executive Producer, the all-star cast of supporting musicians included Burnett, Booker T. Jones on Hammond B-3, Jim Keltner
Jim Keltner
James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
, Raymond Pounds and Alex Acuña
Alex Acuña
Alejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
on drums and percussion, James Jamerson, Jr.
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...
and David Miner
David Miner (musician)
David Miner , sometimes credited as David Minor, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as a member of Grace Slick's The Great Society in the 1960s. He actually co-founded The Great Society along with Jerry, Darby, and Grace Slick as well as Bard Du Pont, in the sense...
on bass, and Charlie Sexton
Charlie Sexton
Charles Wayne Sexton is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for the 1985 hit Beat's So Lonely and as the guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band from 1999 to 2002 and since 2009...
and Jack Sherman on additional guitars. The video for the single, “Without Love,” marked Tonio’s first airplay on MTV.
Olé was Tonio K.’s final record for A&M. Recorded in 1989 and 1990, it didn’t see release until 1997 on Gadfly Records. (The reasons for this are well documented in the liner notes to the CD.) It was produced by T Bone Burnett and David Miner
David Miner (musician)
David Miner , sometimes credited as David Minor, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as a member of Grace Slick's The Great Society in the 1960s. He actually co-founded The Great Society along with Jerry, Darby, and Grace Slick as well as Bard Du Pont, in the sense...
with a core band consisting of Marc Ribot, Booker T. Jones, David Raven and Bruce Thomas (Attractions
The Attractions
The Attractions were best known as the backing band for Elvis Costello between 1978 and 1986, and again from 1994 through 1996. They also released one album as an independent entity in 1980.-History:...
). Additional guitarists included Jack Sherman, Charlie Sexton, Rusty Anderson, Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
' David Hidalgo and The Replacements' Paul Westerberg. The refusal of A&M to release the record at the time precipitated, in Tonio’s words, “my second suicide.” Although Olé was K.’s last major label recording, several other compilation and live CDs have been issued (see discography below).
Songwriter
Tonio K. continued as a performing singer/songwriter into the 1990s but gradually withdrew from live concerts and focused more on crafting songs with and for other artists. His biggest commercial success, “Love Is,” was co-written with long-time collaborator John Keller and Michael Caruso, and was recorded by Vanessa WilliamsVanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
and Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....
. It was a #1 Pop and AC (Adult Contemporary) radio single and one of the most-played songs of 1993. (K. has been quoted as saying that his first choice for vocalist on the song was the famously gruff-voiced Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
). He also co-wrote, with Bob Thiele, Jr.
Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele was an American record producer who worked on countless classic jazz albums and record labels.-Biography:...
and John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
, the Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
AC hit, “You.”
Tonio and close friend Charlie Sexton
Charlie Sexton
Charles Wayne Sexton is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for the 1985 hit Beat's So Lonely and as the guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band from 1999 to 2002 and since 2009...
have written many (mostly unreleased) songs since Sexton first recorded K.’s “Impressed” and “You Don’t Belong Here” on his debut album, Pictures for Pleasure, in 1985. “Graceland (Never Been To),” opening track to the Quentin Tarantino-written and Tony Scott-directed movie True Romance, is one of their more notable, albeit obscure, cuts. K. was involved in writing six songs on Sexton’s Arc Angels debut on Geffen Records. He also co-wrote with Sexton for his Under the Wishing Tree release on MCA.
Tonio K. is almost certainly the only person to have written lyrics for both Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
of the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
and Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
. In addition to several years of collaborating with Bacharach, Tonio co-wrote eight of the nine vocal tracks on the aforementioned Grammy-winning CD, At This Time.
Tonio K. film credits include “Nobody Lives Without Love,” co-written with musician/writer/producer Larry Klein
Larry Klein
Larry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
(Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
) and featured on the multi-platinum-selling soundtrack to Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
; the quasi-Disco semi-hit, “I’m Supposed To Have Sex With You,” from the Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
film Summer School
Summer School (film)
Summer School is a 1987 film directed by Carl Reiner about the travails of a high school gym teacher who is forced to teach a remedial English class for a bunch of maladjusted goof-off students. It stars Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. The original music score was composed by...
; “Stop The Clock,” co-written with T Bone Burnett for the early Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
/Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
/Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
vehicle, Clay Pigeons
Clay Pigeons
Clay Pigeons is a 1998 German/American crime-comedy film written by Matt Healy and directed by David Dobkin. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, Vince Vaughn as Lester Long, and Janeane Garofalo as Agent Shelby.-Plot:...
; the above mentioned “Graceland” from True Romance
True Romance
True Romance is a 1993 American romance crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast consisting of Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin...
; and his song "The Tuff Do What?" from 1985's movie Real Genius
Real Genius
Real Genius is a 1985 satirical comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge. The film's screenplay was written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei. It stars Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret....
. 2002's Van Wilder featuring Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
... song called Okay written with the band Swirl 360
Swirl 360
Swirl 360 is a melodic pop-rock band, founded by the twins Denny and Kenny Scott.-Biography:Swirl 360 was signed to Mercury Records and entered the recording studio in 1997. By December of that year, they had recorded several tracks to which label executives responded promisingly...
.
Tonio K.’s first known “cover” was a song called “Hey John,” recorded by Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
in 1972, but never released. In addition to the cuts mentioned above, he was written with and for Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, The Pointer Sisters, Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
, Diane Schuur
Diane Schuur
Diane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
, Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
, Phoebe Snow, Jules Shear, The Runaways, Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth is an American rock and roll musician. She first enjoyed mainstream success in 1982 as lead singer of the band Scandal and later scored a solo #2 hit with her song "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"...
, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Italian superstar, Richard Cocciante. His most recent cover is by Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas is an American Grammy Award-winning soul and rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans"....
on her upcoming Rounder Records CD, and he is currently in the studio writing with pedal steel prodigy Robert Randolph for a record being produced by T Bone Burnett.
Discography
- “Sewer Rat Love Chant” b/w “Why Did You Rob Us, Tank?” (with The Raik’s Progress), Liberty Records, 1966
- Remnants (with the Crickets), Vertigo Records, 1973
- A Long Way from Lubbock (with the Crickets), Mercury Records (UK-only release), 1974
- Life in the Foodchain, Full Moon/Epic Records, 1978
- Amerika (Cars, Guitars and Teenage Violence), Full Moon/Arista Records, 1980
- La Bomba, Capitol Records/EMI, 1982
- Romeo Unchained (Big Heroes, Tiny Brains), What? RecordsWhat? RecordsWhat? Records was a short-lived record label started by Word Records and A&M Records, intended to focus on creative and unusual rock and roll records with spiritual messages....
/A&M Records, 1986 - Notes From The Lost Civilization, What? Records/A&M Records, 1988
- "La Bomba," from "The Best Of La Bamba," Rhino Records, 1988
- "The Funky Western Civilization," from "New Wave Hits of the 80'sJust Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80sJust Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s is a series of compilations issued by Rhino Records, on both CD and audio cassette, featuring various artists from the new wave era 1979-1985....
", Rhino Records 1994 - “Another Day in Limbo,” from Orphans of GodOrphans of GodOrphans of God is a 2 CD compilation of songs performed by various artists in tribute to songwriter Mark Heard.Recorded and released after Heard's death in 1992, proceeds benefit the Heard Family Fund....
, A Tribute to Mark HeardMark HeardJohn Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
, 1996 - Olé, Gadfly Records, 1997 (recorded 1990)
- Rodent Weekend '76-'96 (Approximately), (rarities and outtakes), Gadfly Records, 1998
- Yugoslavia, Gadfly Records, 1999
- 16 Tons of Monkeys, (live album), Gadfly Records, 2001
- Sewer Rat Love Chant (with The Raik's Progress), Sundazed Records, 2003
- “Not Fade Away,” (with Peter Case), from The Crickets and Their Buddies, Sovereign Artists, 2004
Cover Recordings of Tonio K. Songs by Other Artists
- Alias, “Perfect World,” from the Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead soundtrack and The Son-in-Law soundtrack
- Arc Angels, “Paradise Cafe,” “Sweet Nadine,” “Always Believed in You,” “The Famous Jane,” “Spanish Moon,” “Too Many Ways to Fall,” from Arc Angels
- Burt Bacharach, “Who Are These People?” (feat. Elvis Costello), “Go Ask Shakespeare” (feat. Rufus Wainright), “Always Taking Aim,” ”Can’t Give It Up,” “Dreams Will Come,” “Is Love Enough?,” “Please Explain,” “Where Did It Go?,” from At This Time; "I Still Remember," from "New From An Old Friend," 180 Music compilation
- Mary Black, “Nobody Lives Without Love,” from Shine
- Erin Bode, “You,” from Don’t Take Your Time
- Eric Burdon, “Slow Moving Train,” from Soul of a Man
- T Bone Burnett, “The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper,” from The Talking Animals
- Glen Burtnick, “Perfect World,” from Talking in Code
- Jonathan Butler, “Following the Light,” “What Would You Do for Love?” from Story of Life
- Richard Cocciante, “The Singer,” “Echoes,” “The Beatles Generation,” “Babel,” from Songs
- Carola, “Someday,” from My Show
- Peter Case, “Vanishing Act,” “Why?,” from Six-pack of Love
- Chicago, "If I Should Lose You," from Chicago XXVI Live
- Adam Cohen, “Cry Ophelia,” from Adam Cohen and the Dawson's Creek soundtrack; “This Pain,” “Opposites Attract,” from Adam Cohen
- Joe Cocker,” You Can't Have My Heart,” “You Took It So Hard,” “I'm Listening Now,” from Respect Yourself
- The Crickets, “Hitchhike Out To Venus,” “I’m Gonna Ruin Your Health,” from Remnants; “American Love Affair,” “You Make It Way Too Hard,” from A Long Way From Lubbock
- Sara Evans, “Almost New,” from the Clay Pigeons soundtrack and Girls’ Night Out
- The Fabulous Thunderbirds, “How Do I Get You Back?” from Roll of the Dice
- The Green Car Motel, “Shadow Of The Sun,” from The Green Car Motel
- Al Green, “Love God (and Everyone Else),” from the Michael soundtrack
- Mark Heard, “Miracle,” from Mosaics
- Benny Hester, “It's Over Love,” from Through the Window
- Ronald Isley, “Count on Me,” “Love's Still the Answer,” from Here I Am (Isley Meets Bacharach)
- Steve Jones, “God in Louisiana,” from Fire and Gasoline
- Wynonna Judd, “Don't Look Back,” from Revelations
- Low Millions (feat. Adam Cohen), “Diary,” “Mockingbird,” from Ex-Girlfriends
- Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, “Cool Rain,” from Arrythmia
- Bette Midler, “It's Too Late,” Bette of Roses
- Aaron Neville, “I'll Love You Anyway,” from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack
- Trijntje Oosterhuis, "Love's Still The Answer," from Who'll Speak For Love
- Cary Pierce, “King Of The World,” You Are Here
- The Pointer Sisters, “Had To Lose Myself To Find Myself,” from Only Sisters Can Do That
- Celeste Prince, “Wherever You Are,” from the Sweet November soundtrack
- Bonnie Raitt, “You,” from Longing In Their Hearts, The Best Of Bonnie Raitt, Bonnie Raitt And Friends (duet w/Alison Krauss)
- Nelson Rangell, “Love Is,” from Yes, Then Yes
- Brian Ray, "Soft Machine," "Coming Up Roses," from Mondomagneto
- Eddi Reader, “Nobody Lives Without Love,” from the Batman Forever soundtrack
- The Runaways, “Saturday Night Special,” from And Now... The Runaways
- Diane Schuur, “Never Take That Chance Again,” Friends for Schuur
- Charlie Sexton, “Impressed,” “You Don't Belong Here,” from Pictures for Pleasure; “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Don't Look Back,” from Charlie Sexton
- Charlie Sexton Sextet, “Wishing Tree,” “Ugly All Day,” “Everyone Will Crawl,” “Plain Bad Luck & Innocent Mistakes,” “Home Sweet Home,” “Broken Dream,” from Under The Wishing Tree
- Charlie Sexton and Shannon McNally, “Nothing Mysterious,” “When We Were Younger,” from The Southside Sessions
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Chase the Rainbow,” from Trouble Is
- Percy Sledge, “Your Lovin’ Arms,” from Shining Through the Rain
- Phoebe Snow, “Merry Christmas, Baby,” from Winter, Fire & Snow
- Michael Stanley, “Ugly All Day,” from The Ground
- Andrew Strong, “Half a Man,” from Best of The Commitments
- Swirl 360, “Okay,” from National Lampoon's Van Wilder soundtrack
- Texas Twisters, “Paradise Café,” from Texas Twisters Live
- Irma Thomas, “What Can I Do?” from "Simply Grand"
- Tanya Tucker, “Better Late Than Never,” from Tear Me Apart
- What If, “Perfect World,” from the Russkies soundtrack as well as their self-titled album
- Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight, “Love Is,” from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack
- The Williams Brothers, “Love Doesn't Ever Fail Us,” from the Grace of My Heart soundtrack
- Brian Wilson, “What Love Can Do,” from "New From An Old Friend" 180 Music compilation
- Kumiko Yamashita, “Paint It Blue,” from Utau Onna, Utawanai Onna
- Zuccaro, “Flying Away,” from Fly