Richard Thompson (musician)

Richard Thompson (musician)

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For other people named Richard Thompson, see Richard Thompson (disambiguation).

Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson - 6-21-07 - Photo by Anthony Pepitone.jpg

Prospect Park – Brooklyn, New York, 2007

Background information

Born 3 April 1949 (age 64)

Notting Hill Gate, London, England

Genres Rock, folk rock, electric folk, hard rock, acoustic, alternative rock, folk

Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter

Instruments Vocals, guitar, mandolin, accordion, harmonium, keyboards

Years active 1967–present

Labels Capitol, PolyGram, Shout! Factory

Associated acts Fairport Convention

Linda Thompson

Kamila Thompson

French Frith Kaiser Thompson

Danny Thompson

Teddy Thompson

The Golden Palominos

Pete Zorn

Website www.richardthompson-music.com

Richard John Thompson OBE (born 3 April 1949) is a British songwriter, guitarist and recording and performing musician.

Thompson was awarded the Orville H. Gibson award for best acoustic guitar player in 1991.[1] Similarly, his songwriting has earned him an Ivor Novello Award[1] and, in 2006, a lifetime achievement award from BBC Radio.[1][2] Artists who have recorded Thompson's compositions include such diverse talents as Del McCoury, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, Christy Moore, David Gilmour, Mary Black, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, The Corrs, Sandy Denny, June Tabor, Joel Fafard, Maria McKee, Shawn Colvin, Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy, Nanci Griffith, Graham Parker, The Pointer Sisters, Maura O'Connell, Los Lobos, John Doe, Greg Brown, Bob Mould, Barbara Manning, Loudon Wainwright III, The Futureheads and The Blind Boys of Alabama.[3][4]

Richard Thompson made his début as a recording artist as a member of Fairport Convention in September 1967. He continues to write and record new material regularly and frequently performs live throughout the world.

Thompson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to music.[5] On 5 July 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Aberdeen.[6]

Contents [hide]

1 Early life and career (1949 to 1972)

2 Richard and Linda Thompson (1973 to 1982)

3 1980s

4 1990s

5 2000s

6 2010s

7 Side projects and collaborations

8 Retrospectives and tributes

9 Playing style

10 Guitars

10.1 Electric

10.2 Acoustic

11 Brief discography

12 References

13 External links

Early life and career (1949 to 1972)[edit]

Richard John Thompson was born in Ladbroke Crescent, Notting Hill, West London, England. His father, a Scot, was by profession a Scotland Yard detective, and an amateur guitar player; several other family members had played music professionally. Whilst still attending William Ellis School in Highgate, he formed his first band "Emil and the Detectives" (named after a book and a movie by the same name) with classmate Hugh Cornwell, later lead singer and guitarist of The Stranglers, on bass guitar.

Like so many musicians of his generation, Thompson was exposed to and embraced rock and roll music at an early age, and he was also exposed to his father’s jazz and traditional Scottish music record collection.[7] His father had seen Django Reinhardt play in Glasgow in the 1930s and played guitar himself. He was later described by his son as "a bad amateur player himself, with three chords, though, unfortunately, not C, F and G."[8] All these styles were to colour Thompson’s playing in the years to come.

Joe Boyd said:[9]

He can imitate almost any style, and often does, but is instantly identifiable. In his playing you can hear the evocation of the Scottish piper's drone and the melody of the chanter as well as echoes of Barney Kessell's and James Burton's guitars and Jerry Lee Lewis's piano. But no blues clichés.

By the age of 18 Thompson was playing with the newly formed Fairport Convention. Thompson’s guitar playing caught the ear of American producer Joe Boyd. Largely on the strength of Thompson’s playing Boyd took them under his wing and signed them to his Witchseason production and management company.[10][11]

Boyd said:[12]

And there was this group of very nice Muswell Hill grammar school boys and a girl playing American music. Leonard Cohen songs, and Richard Farina songs, and Bob Dylan songs, all being done in a kind of West-Coasty rock style. And then came the guitar solo, and Richard just played the most amazing solo. He played a solo which quotes from Django, from Charlie Christian, you know, an incredibly sophisticated little solo. And that really amazed me, the breadth of his sophistication... and

...