Tony Thomas (guitarist)

Tony "Strat" Thomas
Background information
Genres R&B, funk, psychedelic soul, Blues
Occupation(s) Musician, record producer
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1974–present
Labels Westbound, Ace, Casablanca Records, Warner Bros. Records, CBS Records, P-Vine Records, Capitol Records, Arista Records, Atlantic Records, A&M records, Musart Media
Associated acts

Parliament-Funkadelic,

Tony Strat Thomas Funk Mob, P-Funk Outlawz, Enema Squad, Kiddo, Muruga Booker, Billy Davis

Tony Thomas (also known as Tony "Strat" Thomas), is an American funk and rock guitarist from Highland Park, Michigan U.S., and is best known for his work with George Clinton, Parliament, and the P-Funk All-Stars.[1] Thomas has also recorded extensively with Muruga Booker, and is a guitarist in Muruga & The Cosmic Hoedown Band and Muruga Blues All-Stars.[2]

As a teenager, Thomas fell in love with the sound of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, and his mother eventually bought him one, earning him the nickname "Strat" ever since.[1] He quickly learned how to play and he soon joined a Detroit, MIchigan reggae band called Onyx.[1]

In 1979, Thomas and Donnie Sterling formed a P-Funk offspring group called Sterling Silver Starship, and an album was recorded, but was never released. Thomas and Sterling left Sterling Silver Starship in 1981 and formed a group, Kiddo, and they recorded a self-titled album that was released by A&M Records.

In 1982 Thomas played guitar on George Clinton's first solo recording project Computer Games,[3] which included the hit songs Atomic Dog and Loopzilla. Thomas went on to record through the 1980s with P-Funk, and was featured on many of their biggest-selling records.[1]

In 2014 Thomas joined fellow P-Funk All-Star Muruga Booker to form Muruga & The Cosmic Hoedown Band, and they recorded several projects including a couple with George Clinton and several other members of the P-Funk All Stars.[2] In 2015 Thomas and Muruga & The Cosmic Hoedown Band performed at the eighth annual Concert of Colors in Detroit, Michigan, performing with the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue, and was a featured soloist playing Maggot Brain.[4]

In 2017 Thomas and Booker also formed a blues band called Booker Blues All-Stars and recorded an album in honor of John Lee Hooker's 100th anniversary birthday celebration, called Booker Plays Hooker,[5] which also features Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee J.C. "Billy" Davis,[6] Peter Madcat Ruth,[7] Misty Love,[8] John Sauter,[9] and Shakti Booker.[10]

Thomas' guitar work with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic related projects has been sampled by many artists, including Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Digital Underground, Too Short, Tweedy Bird Loc and Ruthless Rap Assassins.[11][12][13]

Due to his guitar tone and playing style, Thomas has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Hazel.[1]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tony Thomas on georgeclinton.com
  2. 1 2 Muruga Booker on Bandcamp
  3. 1 2 George Clinton - Computer Games at Discogs
  4. ↑ MURUGA & THE COSMIC HOEDOWN BAND Maggot Brain performance with 2015 Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue
  5. 1 2 Booker Blues All Stars - Booker Plays Hooker on Bandcamp
  6. ↑ Billy Davis on musicwikidetroit
  7. ↑ Madcat Ruth website
  8. ↑ Misty Love on Discogs
  9. ↑ John Sauter at Discogs
  10. ↑ Shakti Booker at Discogs
  11. ↑ Loopzilla on whosampled.com
  12. ↑ Atomic Dog on whosampled.com
  13. ↑ Agony of Defeet on whosampled.com
  14. ↑ Parliament - Trombipulation at allmusic
  15. ↑ Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies at Discogs
  16. ↑ Kiddo - Kiddo at Discogs
  17. ↑ P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dancefloor Guerillas at Discogs
  18. ↑ P-Funk All Stars - Hydraulic Funk at allmusic
  19. ↑ Jimmy G. & The Tackheads - Federation Of Tackheads at Discogs
  20. ↑ Parliament - Tear The Roof Off 1974-1980 at Discogs
  21. ↑ George Clinton / George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - Family Series, Vol. 1: Go Fer Yer Funk at Discogs
  22. ↑ George Clinton / George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - Family Series, Vol. 2: Plush Funk at Discogs
  23. ↑ George Clinton / George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - Family Series, Vol. 3: P Is the Funk at Discogs
  24. ↑ George Clinton And The P-Funk All Stars – P-Funk Unreleased Remix at Discogs
  25. ↑ George Clinton / George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - Family Series, Vol. 4 - Testing Positive 4 The Funk at Discogs
  26. ↑ George Clinton / George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - Family Series, Vol. 5 - A Fifth of Funk at Discogs
  27. ↑ Parliament - The Best of Parliament: Give Up the Funk at allmusic
  28. ↑ George Clinton – Greatest Funkin' Hits at Discogs
  29. ↑ George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars – Funk Permission Card at Discogs
  30. ↑ Parliament - The Best Of Parliament at Discogs
  31. ↑ Parliament - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Parliament ay allmusic
  32. ↑ Parliament - Gold at allmusic
  33. ↑ The New Newz - Deer Dreamers at Bandcamp
  34. ↑ Muruga & The Cosmic Hoedown Band meet George Clinton & P-Funk All-Stars - The Fathership - Mothership World Connection at Bandcamp
  35. ↑ Wormhole Cafe (feat. P-Funk All-Stars & more) - At The Wormhole Cafe at Bandcamp
  36. ↑ Muruga & The Cosmic Hoedown Band - Harmonious World on Bandcamp
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.