One of Television’s band Tom Verlaine, one of the most influential bands in New York’s punk rock scene centered around nightclub CBGB, his experimental guitar improvisations and poetic songwriting are synonymous with punk. as, or as any other genre, could not be easily categorized. — he died Saturday in Manhattan. he was 73 years old.
His death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Verlaine’s fellow musician Patti Smith. She said he died “after a short illness” and did not specify the cause.
Although Television had only minor commercial success and disbanded after recording two albums, Mr. Verlaine (who subsequently recorded several solo albums and reunited with the band regularly) was particularly It made a lasting impact on fellow guitarists.
“For any young rocker of intelligence and originality, Tom Bahrain is the guitarist to mention these days,” wrote Robert Palmer of The New York Times in 1987.
Reflecting on Verlaine’s band’s performance at the Bowery Ballroom in 2006, Times critic John Pareles wrote: Verlaine’s lead his guitar never showed off his virtuosity by playing over the beat. Instead, they pulled against it.
The layered, often ethereal sound developed by Mr. Verlaine and other members of Television was a far cry from the stripped-down approach of the Ramones and other punk scene staples Wright. However, the scene, which also included disparate bands like Blondie and Talking Heads, was not as monolithic as it is often portrayed.
The band’s lead singer and most of the songwriter, Verlaine learned piano and saxophone as a child, and his music ranges from John Coltrane’s free jazz to the Rolling Stones’ hard-driving “19th.” He had roots in all kinds of music. Nervous breakdown. “His often striking lyrics reflect the influence of poets such as Paul Verlaine, from whom Thomas Miller took his stage name.
Television had its roots in the friendship between Richard Myers, later known as Richard Hell, and Mr. Barlaine when they were students at a boarding school in Delaware. After they moved to New York, they formed a band, The Neon Boys, which evolved into television in 1973, with Richard Lloyd on second guitar, Mr. Hell on bass, and Billy Ficka on drums. Mr. Hell was replaced by Fred Smith in 1975, who later formed the punk band Richard Hell and the Voidoid.
After building a devoted following in New York, Television signed to Elektra Records and released the album Marquee Moon in 1977. Sales were disappointing, but critical acclaim was almost unanimous, and “Marky Moon” now regularly appears on lists of the best rock albums.
A full obituary follows.
