HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2003-012 Resolution of Appreciation for Tommy ThompsonORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR
TOMMY THOMPSON OF THE RED CLAY RAMBLERS
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WHEREAS: Tommy Thompson was born in West Virginia in 1937, graduating from Kenyon College
in 1959, and spending the next four years as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guazd in New
Orleans, the cradle of jazz; and,
WHEREAS: In 1966, while pursuing a graduate degree in Philosophy at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tommy Thompson and his banjo formed the Hollow Rock String
Band, devoted to the old-time dance music of the southern Appalachian Mountains; and,
WHEREAS: In 1972, Bill Hicks, Jim Watson and Tommy Thompson formed The Red Clay Ramblers,
a band that was characterized by its distinctive Taz Heel sound; and,
WHEREAS: Marcia Wilson, founder of the Cat's Cradle, which was the only music venue club in the
area that provided a stage setting, and who enthusiastically encouraged the regular solo
performances of Tommy Thompson and with the Red Clay Ramblers; and,
WHEREAS: The Red Clay Ramblers' fusion of bluegrass, folk, blues and Vaudeville helped the band
develop a unique, eclectic style, that helped the Ramblers develop a wide following of
devoted fans from the United States to Canada, and through Europe to the Middle East
and Africa; and,
WHEREAS: In 1975, Tommy Thompson and the Ramblers joined the off-Broadway cast of Diamond
Studs, a musical about the life of Jesse James, where Thompson earned critical acclaim
for his portrayal of Cole Younger and Jesse James' mother, Zerelda Samuels; and,
WHEREAS: The Ramblers headlined the first Festival for the Eno in 1980 and became even more
popular when they were introduced to the national audience of public radio through their
performances on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion; and,
WHEREAS: The Red Clay Ramblers appeared on Broadway and enjoyed a long association with
writer/director Sam Shepard, who cast them as the medicine show band in his 1993
movie, Silent Tongue; and,
WHEREAS: In September 1994, Tommy Thompson played his last gig with the Ramblers at
Carrboro's ArtsCenter; and,
WHEREAS: Tommy Thompson's drop-thumb clawhammer fell silent on January 24, 2003, when this
talented, larger-than-life figure of North Carolina musical lore, passed on to heaven,
"...just across the Blue Ridge where the high meadows lay, and the galax spreads
through the new mown hay";
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Orange County Boazd of Commissioners celebrates the
outstanding creative, cultural and intellectual contributions of Tommy Thompson's life
and his deeply rooted commitment to civil rights and progressive achievements during his
life, and mourns the loss of this great cultural resource, who came to represent the music
of the Tar Heel State to a worldwide audience.
This the seventeenth day of February 2003.
Margaret W. Brown, Chair
Board of County Commissioners