Thomas William Hamilton

born on 31/12/1951 in Colorado Springs, CO, United States

Alias Tom Hamilton

Tom Hamilton (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tom Hamilton (musician)

Thomas William "Tom" Hamilton (born December 31, 1951 in Colorado, United States) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of hard rock band Aerosmith. He has co-written two of Aerosmith's hits, "Sweet Emotion" and "Janie's Got a Gun". Hamilton occasionally plays guitar (e.g. "Uncle Salty")[1] and sings backing vocals (e.g. "Love in an Elevator").[2]

Early years

Hamilton first started playing guitar when he was 12 and switched to bass when he was 14 to join a local band because they had an open space at that position. Hamilton was in a few bands with soon-to-be Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and David "Pudge" Scott. One of the bands was simply called "The Jam Band". It was at a Jam Band gig in summer 1970 at a place called "The Barn" in Sunapee, New Hampshire, that the Jam Band met Steven Tyler, and the four of them agreed to move to Boston to start a band (not yet named Aerosmith). Scott left the group shortly thereafter, being replaced by Tyler on drums. The three became a power trio with Hamilton on bass, Perry on guitar, and Tyler on drums and vocals. Then Ray Tabano joined and eventually Joey Kramer joined (who coined the name "Aerosmith") in replacing Tyler on drums so he could focus on vocals. Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford and Aerosmith was born.

Personal life

Hamilton was born to George and Betty Hamilton in Colorado Springs, Colorado. George and Betty now live in Vero Beach, Florida. He has an older brother named Scott, an older sister named Perry, and a younger sister named Cecily. His father was in the Air Force and his mother was a housewife.

He first learned to play guitar from his brother, who got his first guitar when Tom was four years old. Hamilton is the tallest member of the band at 6'1". He is also the "funny one" of Aerosmith, always looking for chances to make jokes in interviews and also being one of the bigger talkers at interviews. According to the band's official website, Hamilton's favorite song by the band is "The Farm" (from the 1997 album Nine Lives). He married Terry Cohen in 1975 and they have two children, Julian and Sage.[3][4]

In August 2006, he announced that he was diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer and completed a seven-week course of radiation and chemotherapy. He was forced to miss Aerosmith's Route of All Evil Tour. David Hull (who has played in The Joe Perry Project) filled in for Hamilton. Hamilton had never previously missed an Aerosmith show. He joined the band for the performance of "Sweet Emotion" at their Boston show in September 2006, and at the private show at the Beacon Theatre in New York, on December 3, 2006, where he reclaimed his place with the band for the entire performance. On December 20, 2006, Hamilton reported on Aero Force One that he is cancer-free after a recent PET scan. He is currently undergoing surgery, the reason being from the radiation he went through due to his throat cancer, so he was not playing some of the Aerosmith/ZZ Top Tour and again, was replaced by David Hull during that time.[5] Hamilton's cancer returned in 2011, and he has since been treated and is recovering well[6]

In April 2013, Hamilton was forced to retire from the band's tour in Australia for health reasons. He returned to the USA after contracting an infection in the chest region. David Hull, who has replaced Hamilton in other tours of Aerosmith, took his place.

Aerosmith songs written

The following Aerosmith songs have a writing credit given to Tom Hamilton

  1. "Sweet Emotion" from Toys in the Attic
  2. "Uncle Salty" from Toys in the Attic
  3. "Sick as a Dog" from Rocks
  4. "Critical Mass" from Draw the Line
  5. "Kings and Queens" from Draw the Line
  6. "The Hand That Feeds" from Draw the Line
  7. "Krawhitham" from ""Draw the Line Outtakes"
  8. "The Reason a Dog" from Done with Mirrors
  9. "The Movie" from Permanent Vacation
  10. "Janie's Got a Gun" from Pump
  11. "Beautiful" from Music From Another Dimension!
  12. "Tell Me" from Music From Another Dimension!
  13. "Lover Alot" from Music From Another Dimension!
  14. "Can't Stop Lovin' You" from Music From Another Dimension!
  15. "Up On A Mountain" from Music From Another Dimension! (Deluxe Version) [Also provides lead vocals]

Awards

  • 2007 - Boston Music Award - Personal Achievement [7]

Instruments

Hamilton has used a wide variety of bass guitars over Aerosmith's career. He has stated in several interviews that his first bass was a Fender Precision that he borrowed and later bought from a friend. During the early years of Aerosmith and the time after their reformation he often used a Music Man bass, a Fender Precision Bass, a Fender Jazz Bass, or a Gibson Thunderbird. During the "Dude Looks Like A Lady" sequence of Wayne's World 2, he is seen playing a Gibson Les Paul Bass. However, during the making of Just Push Play he called upon a Hofner Violin Bass or a double bass during many of the recording sessions. Recently he has favored a modified '51 Fender Precision Bass with double pickups instead of one for the recording of Honkin' On Bobo and the subsequent tours following the album's creation. It is known that he also uses Parker basses, since he appeared playing this bass in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, though he was seen playing one at the 2004 concert in Japan. As of June 2009 he was touring with five Sadowsky basses in addition to others.[8]

References

  1. Toys in the Attic 1993 Remastered Liner Notes
  2. Big Ones Liner Notes
  3. Tom Hamilton Biography Aerosmith. Aerosmith Fans (2006-12-03). Retrieved on 2011-07-09.
  4. Newman, Melinda (2009-08-12). Ten Minutes With... Aebhnjrosmiths Tom Hamilton. HitFix.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-09.
  5. Aerosmith Health Report - Bassist Tom Hamilton Sitting Out Shows | Pollstar - The Concert Hotwire. Pollstar. Retrieved on 2011-07-09.
  6. http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/aerosmith-bassist-undergoes-cancer-treatment-2336/
  7. Tom Wins Personal Achievement Award at BMA's | Aerosmith News. AeroForceOne. Retrieved on 2011-07-09.
  8. Sadowsky Guitars | Artist News. Sadowsky.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-09.

External links

  • Tom Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
  • Aerosmith.com
  • Tom Hamilton's letter to the fans about his cancer and the tour
  • Hamilton's back in the saddle again
  • Hamilton treated for throat cancer
  • Tom Hamilton on The Emily Rooney Show on WGBH Radio
Aerosmith
Steven Tyler | Joe Perry | Brad Whitford | Tom Hamilton | Joey Kramer
Ray Tabano | Jimmy Crespo | Rick Dufay
Discography
Studio albums: Aerosmith | Get Your Wings | Toys in the Attic | Rocks | Draw the Line | Night in the Ruts | Rock in a Hard Place | Done with Mirrors | Permanent Vacation | Pump | Get a Grip | Nine Lives | Just Push Play | Honkin' on Bobo
Live albums: Live Bootleg | Classics Live I and II | A Little South of Sanity | Rockin' the Joint
Compilations: Aerosmith's Greatest Hits | Gems | Pandora's Box | Big Ones | Box of Fire | Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology | O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
Videos: Live Texxas Jam '78 | 3 x 5 | Aerosmith Scrapbook | Things That Go Pump in the Night | The Making of Pump | Big Ones You Can Look At | You Gotta Move
Singles: Mama Kin | Dream On | Sweet Emotion | Walk This Way | Last Child | Back in the Saddle | Draw the Line | Kings and Queens | Come Together | Remember (Walkin' in the Sand) | Dude (Looks Like a Lady) | Angel | Rag Doll | Love in an Elevator | Janie's Got a Gun | What it Takes | The Other Side | Livin' on the Edge | Cryin | Amazing | Crazy | Deuces Are Wild | Blind Man | Fallin' in Love (is Hard on the Knees) | Hole in My Soul | Pink | I Don't Want to Miss a Thing | Jaded
This page was last modified 19.02.2014 07:53:28

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