Tom Verlaine Singer Of Television Passed Away At 73

Tom Verlaine, a singer, guitarist, and lyricist for Television, passed away at the age of 73.

Patti Smith’s daughter who is a friend of Verlaine confirmed the news.

One of many notable bands to come out of New York City’s vibrant mid-’70s music scene was Television. The band rose to fame by frequently playing at CBGB, the same venue where the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads were all formed. Verlaine told Guitar Player in 1993:

“In the early ’60s, I hated pop. I took up sax in about ’63, and an older friend of mine had some [John] Coltrane and Ornette Coleman records, and that’s the music I liked.

“I never listened to guitar music – I thought it was a really twee instrument. But when I wanted to write songs, I decided that was the thing to play. For me, even a solo is an accompaniment of some kind, or it just takes the place of a voice.”

Television disbanded in 1978 after Marquee Moon and its follow-up, Adventure, failed to make much of an impact on the charts. While over the last three decades, Verlaine put out 10 solo albums. Then he occasionally performed live shows with Television once more. However, in 1992, the trio issued its final, self-titled album. The Edge told Rolling Stone in 1988:

“I think what I took from Verlaine was not really his style, but the fact that he did something no one else had done.”