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The DJ Who Roared: Tom Terrell
Remembrance of a writer, photographer, and friend
Tom Terrell, July 16, 1950, to November 29, 2007
It is with great sadness — oh, yeah, right, just ignore that regular intro. It is with a big ol' hole in my soul that I report the passing of writer, photographer, and inspired music aficionado Tom Terrell, a man who was a true soul brother to me and very many others around the whole musical world. He died this morning of prostate cancer.
"May we rejoice and remember with great joy Tom's life,'' says Me'Shell Ndegeocello, one of the many musicians Terrell met in his life travels. "So many are grateful for what he's shared. And may we all be so blessed as he seemed to be and hopefully give of ourselves, to aid in other achievements and ideas."
An ambivalent New Jerseyite and proud graduate of Washington's Howard University, Lil' Tommy Tee (that was his DJ handle back in his 1980s radio heyday, on his DC show Cafe C'est Wha) was a most unusual and gifted funny guy who always got the party started, professionally, socially, and personally.
Among Tom's abundant delights were his enthusiasm for and appreciation of the wacky racket of people and events around him — particularly the music. Tom had an encyclopedic knowledge of so many styles: funk, jazz, and rock too. Tommy Tee was a punk rocker who could launch into an insightful analysis of X-Ray Spex just as easily as of go-go king Chuck B & the Soul Searchers or of George Clinton, who hymned Terrell's soul hometown Washington, DC, as Chocolate City. He was deeply into Brazilian music and Portugese fado — hell, he was a pioneering world citizen of music.
"I remember him being someone with a lot of courage especially about the music and musicians he loved, and this I loved about him more than anything else,'' says musician Graham Haynes. "If Tom dug your music he would stick his neck out for you. Go out on a limb even against the odds. I know this from first-hand experience as he was my publicist for several years. He was always pushing what others thought was not 'marketable,' and I will never forget this about him not just personally 'cause he was helping me, but because he was helping the music. He saw the cause. He had a mission. Tom also knew more about music from around the world than anyone else I knew. He was the first one to hip me to Cesaria Evora. Great man. Great taste. Great mind and spirit."
It is with great sadness — oh, yeah, right, just ignore that regular intro. It is with a big ol' hole in my soul that I report the passing of writer, photographer, and inspired music aficionado Tom Terrell, a man who was a true soul brother to me and very many others around the whole musical world. He died this morning of prostate cancer.
"May we rejoice and remember with great joy Tom's life,'' says Me'Shell Ndegeocello, one of the many musicians Terrell met in his life travels. "So many are grateful for what he's shared. And may we all be so blessed as he seemed to be and hopefully give of ourselves, to aid in other achievements and ideas."
An ambivalent New Jerseyite and proud graduate of Washington's Howard University, Lil' Tommy Tee (that was his DJ handle back in his 1980s radio heyday, on his DC show Cafe C'est Wha) was a most unusual and gifted funny guy who always got the party started, professionally, socially, and personally.
Among Tom's abundant delights were his enthusiasm for and appreciation of the wacky racket of people and events around him — particularly the music. Tom had an encyclopedic knowledge of so many styles: funk, jazz, and rock too. Tommy Tee was a punk rocker who could launch into an insightful analysis of X-Ray Spex just as easily as of go-go king Chuck B & the Soul Searchers or of George Clinton, who hymned Terrell's soul hometown Washington, DC, as Chocolate City. He was deeply into Brazilian music and Portugese fado — hell, he was a pioneering world citizen of music.
"I remember him being someone with a lot of courage especially about the music and musicians he loved, and this I loved about him more than anything else,'' says musician Graham Haynes. "If Tom dug your music he would stick his neck out for you. Go out on a limb even against the odds. I know this from first-hand experience as he was my publicist for several years. He was always pushing what others thought was not 'marketable,' and I will never forget this about him not just personally 'cause he was helping me, but because he was helping the music. He saw the cause. He had a mission. Tom also knew more about music from around the world than anyone else I knew. He was the first one to hip me to Cesaria Evora. Great man. Great taste. Great mind and spirit."
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