Timmy Thomas
Though perhaps best known for the skeletal organ groove of his 1972 hit "Why Can't We Live Together," R&B vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Timmy Thomas enjoyed a long and storied career in various sectors of the music industry. After making solo albums throughout the '70s and into the '80s, Thomas transitioned into a production role in the '90s, though he continued releasing singles and one-off records like the 1993 compilation With Heat & Soul. Thomas' music was still being discovered well into the 2000s and beyond, when artists like Drake and Darren Espanto covered his songs or sampled them for new hits.
Thomas was born in Evansville, Indiana in 1944. In the '60s he started working as a session musician in the studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and was releasing singles of his own by the end of the decade. Thomas left Memphis for Miami at the beginning of the '70s, and there he recorded his 1972 debut long-player Why Can't We Live Together. The album's spare instrumentation of rudimentary rhythm box drum machine, ghostly funk organ, and Thomas' patient but passionate vocals stood out from the busy psychedelic soul of the era, but the open arrangements were just as trippy. The album's title track became Thomas' first and biggest hit, climbing to the upper reaches of the charts in several countries and selling over two million copies worldwide. He filled out his sound considerably for 1974's You're the Song I've Always Wanted to Sing and spent the rest of the '70s releasing singles that got deeper into a disco sound, as well as issuing several more records under his own name such as 1977's Touch to Touch and a 1979 live album recorded at a concert in South Africa. Thomas continued working as a studio player on sessions with Gwen McCrae and Blowfly and moved into production in the '90s working for LaFace Records. He scored a hit in the Philippines with his 1990 song "(Dying Inside) To Hold You" and sporadically released new music of his own. Thomas' best-loved hit endured and was given a boost in recognition when global pop phenomenon Drake sampled "Why Can't We Live Together?" as the backbone of his 2015 hit "Hotline Bling." The song became ubiquitously popular worldwide, hitting the upper reaches of the charts and eventually being streamed over a billion times. In 2017 singer/actor Darren Espanto covered "(Dying Inside) To Hold You" for the film Philippine romantic comedy All of You, furthering the interest in Thomas' back catalog. Thomas was 77 years old and still living in Miami when he died of cancer on March 11, 2022.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo
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Discografía
19 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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Timmy Thomas (Live)
Funk - Editado por Stone Music Family, LLC el 30 oct. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together
Pop - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 1 oct. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together: The Best Of The TK Years 1972/81
Hip-Hop/Rap - Editado por Parlophone UK el 19 may. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together
Soul - Editado por Mmt el 1 oct. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
(Dying Inside) To Hold You
Disco - Editado por New Way Music Musikverlag und Produktion GmbH el 1 ene. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together (Gregor Salto & Ibitaly Remix)
Disco - Editado por High Fashion Music el 19 mar. 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together
Dance - Editado por High Fashion Music el 30 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Can't We Live Together
Disco - Editado por New Way Music Musikverlag und Produktion GmbH el 6 abr. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You're the Song
Soul - Editado por Stone Music Family, LLC el 30 oct. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Timmy Thomas
Soul - Editado por Vantage Music el 7 oct. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stone To The Bone
R&B - Editado por Real Rhythm And Blues Records el 25 jul. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loving Timmy
R&B - Editado por Real Rhythm And Blues Records el 4 abr. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Touch to Touch
Soul - Editado por Stone Music Family, LLC el 1 ene. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Africa (Live)
Soul - Editado por The Gallo Record Company Vault el 22 dic. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You're The Song I've Always Wanted To Sing (2004 Remaster)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Editado por Parlophone UK el 1 ene. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Why Can't We Live Together (No More Wars)
House - Editado por Four 4 Manifesto LLC el 1 may. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Timmy Thomas
Soul - Editado por Heaven And Earth Music el 7 oct. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I've Got To See You Tonight
Soul - Editado por Black Barn Music el 15 sep. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo