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Artist
Tom Kelly
12+ albums
about
Thomas Hamer Kelly V( Tom Kelly ) was born on April 18, 1952 and grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. His mother took him to a concert by Andres Segovia when Tom was 5 and thus began his great love affair with the guitar. His mother procured one for him and found a student of Segovia’s to give him lessons. He eventually learned other instruments, especially keyboards of all kinds, but the guitar was his first and deepest commitment. Inspired by classical composers like Claude Debussy and Gustav Holst and the burgeoning music of the 60’s, especially psychedelic and classical rock, he began composing his own songs and formed several bands. “Still,” “Yellow Autumn,” and Museum,” were the three that were precursors to his longest-lived collaboration, “Mistress Quickly,” (named for the Shakespearean character). By the time Museum was formed in 1971 he was writing all of his original music in notation, which he would hand out for the band members to learn and perform. He wrote primarily symphonic rock that carried his own particular stamp, certainly in what now would be called the Progressive vein. Yet the music was firmly in his distinctive style, classically inspired, with multiple time signature changes and often quixotic lyrics with a penchant for quick, dark humour. It was described by a music producer of the time as “chamber music for electric instruments.” Mistress Quickly was selected to record some demos, but by the time they were done and delivered to the recording c
