Tony Thompson

Anthony Theodore Thompson (November 15, 1954 – November 12, 2003) was an American session drummer best known as the drummer of the Power Station and a member of Chic.

Thompson was raised in the middle-class community of Springfield Gardens, in Queens, New York, New York. His mother was Trinidadian and father was of Antiguan descent.

He was influenced to pick up the drums by rock musicians, and was influenced early on by Ringo Starr, Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, and John Bonham, later being influenced by Steve Gadd and Billy Cobham.

Thompson first drummed for the group Labelle, and then for a short while was a member of the soul/disco band Ecstasy, Passion & Pain. This was followed by a long tenure with Chic, where he helped create hits such as "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," "Le Freak," and "Good Times". He also performed with members of Chic on "We Are Family" and "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge and "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross.

Following the temporary disbanding of Chic in 1983, Chic's former guitarist and bassist, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards became prolific producers, and Thompson's drumming was much in demand among their clients. Thompson appeared with numerous artists such as Jody Watley, Madonna (on her 1984 album Like a Virgin), Rod Stewart, Robert Palmer and David Bowie.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.