TOMMY TEDESCO Biography - Musicians

 
 

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TOMMY TEDESCO

Name: Tommy Tedesco                                                                     
Born: 3 July 1930                                                                       
Died: 10 November 1997                                                                 
                                                                                       
Thomas J. Tedesco (July 3, 1930 - November 10, 1997) was an American master             
session musician and renowned jazz fusion and bebop guitarist.                         
                                                                                       
Born in Niagara Falls, New York, Tedesco made his way to the U.S. West Coast           
where he became one of the most-sought-after studio guitarists between the 1960s       
and 1980s. Although Tedesco was primarily a guitar player, he was also qualified       
on the mandolin, ukulele, and the sitar as well as 28 other stringed instruments       
(though he played all of them in guitar tuning).                                       
                                                                                       
He was described by "Guitar Player" magazine as the most recorded guitarist in         
history, having played on thousands of recordings. He recorded with most of the         
top musicians working in the Los Angeles area including the Beach Boys, Everly         
Brothers, The Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald,           
Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra.                             
                                                                                       
Tedesco's credits, to name a few, include the themes to television's Bonanza,           
The Twilight Zone, Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Batman, and Elvis Presley's '68               
Comeback Special. He also performed for film soundtracks such as The French             
Connection, The Godfather, Jaws, The Deer Hunter, Field of Dreams, plus several         
Elvis Presley films. He was also the guitarist for the Original Roxy cast of The       
Rocky Horror Show.                                                                     
                                                                                       
On his own, Tedesco recorded a number of jazz guitar albums but his musical             
career ended in 1992 when he suffered a stroke that resulted in partial                 
paralysis. The following year he published his autobiography titled "Confessions       
of a Guitar Player."                                                                   
                                                                                       
Tommy Tedesco died in Northridge, California in 1997, aged 67.