Enormously prolific and versatile musician who
appeared on thousands of recordings and could play about thirty different
stringed instruments, most notably the acoustic and electric guitar.Tommy was born in Niagara Falls and
began playing guitar at age seven.By age eight, he was touring professionally with an orchestra.It was a portent of things to
come.In 1953, a big-band
orchestra hired him to tour, and the tour ultimately led to a two-month gig
in Hollywood, after which he was laid off, and then quit.He had been bitten by the Hollywood
bug, however, and upon returning to Niagara Falls decided it was time to
pick up and move.Although the L.A.
session era was in full flight, Tommy found himself grounded at an aircraft
factory, a job he hated.He
practiced guitar after work, ten hours a day.A self-proclaimed hustler, with a
fear of flying, Tommy soon left the world of aerodynamics behind, taking
off on the club circuit instead.Stints in Las Vegas and Los Angeles exposed him to Latin music, and
television work soon followed, including free-lance assignments on Ozzy & Harriet and The Red Skelton Show.They were by no means his last
forays into television.An
astute sight-reader, Tommy could play in virtually any style, and
frequently dumbed down his playing to suit the
desires of the musical director.Thus you get his twangy solo on the Green Acres theme song.Other television credits include The Ant & The Aardvark, Batman, Bonanza, The Brady Bunch,
Dallas, Get Smart, Gilligan's
Island, Gunsmoke,
Happy Days, The Love Boat, The Mickey
Mouse Club, The Munsters, Three's
Company, The Twilight Zone,
and The Waltons.It is his plaintive acoustic guitar
work you hear on the opening notes of the theme from M*A*S*H.He also
played the recurring role of Tommy Marinucci on Fernwood Tonight.Tommy Tedesco was destined to break
out of the box and onto the big screen, and build a formidable filmography that includes Blade Runner, Bonnie
& Clyde, The Buddy Holly
Story, Butch Cassidy & the
Sundance Kid, California Suite,
Cocoon, Cool Hand Luke, The Deer
Hunter, The Exorcist, Field of Dreams, The French Connection, Girl Crazy, TheGodfather, Grease, Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, Jaws, The Odd Couple,
Rio Lobo, The River, Viva Las Vegas,
and Young Frankenstein.In the early '60s, Tommy found
himself riding the wave of the California sound, adding his guitar hooks to
a string of hits, including "Along Comes Mary" by The Association,
"Fun, Fun, Fun", "Good Vibrations" and "I Get
Around" by The Beach Boys, "The Age of Aquarius" and "Up,
Up and Away" by The Fifth Dimension, "This Diamond Ring"
by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, "California Dreamin'"
and "Monday, Monday" by The Mamas & the Papas, "You've
Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous
Brothers, "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra, and "These
Boots Were Made For Walkin'" by Nancy
Sinatra.Other artists and
groups with whom he collaborated include Herb Alpert, Alvin & the
Chipmunks, Cher, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, Neil
Diamond, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Ella
Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Jan & Dean, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight, Peggy
Lee, Henry Mancini, Dean Martin, The Monkees, Muddy
Waters, Wayne Newton, Olivia Newton-John, The Partridge Family, Johnny
Rivers, Doc Severinsen, Barbra Streisand, The
Supremes, Tina Turner, Sarah Vaughan, Stevie
Wonder, and Frank Zappa.In
1992, Tommy had a stroke that paralyzed his right arm.Unable to continue playing, at least
at the high level to which he had become accustomed, he did manage to chronicle
his experiences in an autobiography entitled Confessions of a Guitar Player, in 1993.Four years later, he passed away, in
Northridge, California, aged 67.It has been said by the magazine Guitar
Player and others that Tommy Tedesco was the most recorded guitarist
ever.
