Thomas Michael (T.M.) Stevens, a world-renowned bassist whose career saw him back artists in a range of styles, died March 10 after suffering with dementia for several years. He was 72.
Stevens was raised in the Bronx, where his mother played 45s by James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and other artists. As a pre-teen, he spent time in a Boy Scout troop in Harlem. Its leader, Leon Charlie, was a guitarist into jazz players like Wes Montgomery and George Benson, and offered to show Stevens how to play. Soon after starting lessons, Stevens gravitated to bass. Charlie helped Stevens get a Zimgar bass from a musician in the neighborhood, and he used it to learn. Attuned to the instrument, he would take the subway to Harlem to watch James Brown at the Apollo Theater, catching every show during the singer’s extended runs, often more than one per day. He became a fan of Bootsy Collins and James Jamerson as well as Chuck Rainey, Willie Weeks, Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Michael Henderson, and others.
His first gigs were in funk bands in Minneapolis. In 1979, he played bass on two albums by jazz guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo as well as singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Narada Michael Walden’s The Dance of Life. In ’81, he moved to Los Angeles to be near the studio scene and recorded an album with the band The Space Cadets. In ’85, he played on Brown’s last major hit, “Living in America” (that’s his vocal doing the title line in the chorus) and the following year joined the Pretenders in time to record Get Close with its hit single, “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”
Stevens’ style reflected influences ranging from Collins to John Paul Jones, Larry Graham to Noel Redding, and his career was marked by collaborations with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Prince, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Steven Van Zandt, Billy Squier, Tina Turner, Taylor Dayne, and Billy Joel. In 1993, he was one of the notable guests on funk-rock guitarist Steve Salas covers/tribute album The Electric Pow Wow, then joined Steve Vai’s band, Vai, to record Sex & Religion.
From ’95 to 2007, Stevens recorded six solo albums and guided the tribute effort Black Knight – Deep Purple Tribute According to New York. For the last 30 years of his career, he was a Warwick endorser.
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
