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Rob Thomas Biography
As the driving force of matchbox twenty, Rob Thomas is widely acknowledged as one of the most distinctive vocalists and gifted songwriters in contemporary music. Since making their debut in 1996, matchbox has evolved into one of the most admired and consistently successful rock bands in recent history, with over 25 million albums sold worldwide. As matchbox twenty’s primary composer, Thomas has penned a remarkable string of chart-topping hits, including “Push,” “3AM,” “If You’re Gone,” “Bent,” “Real World,” “Back 2 Good,” “Mad Season,” “Disease,” “Unwell,” and “Bright Lights.” matchbox has earned the distinction of having had more #1 hits and spending more weeks at #1 on both the national Modern AC and Adult Top 40 charts than any other artist in history. Rob’s growing reputation as an exceptional songwriter has led to invitations to collaborate with a select list of artists – most notably Santana, for whom he wrote and sang the smash single, “Smooth,” which earned Thomas three Grammy Awards. He has also worked with the likes of Willie Nelson, Marc Anthony, Mick Jagger, and Bernie Taupin. Combining all of his projects, Thomas has contributed to the sales of over 75 million records. He has earned 13 BMI Awards, including both songwriter and song of the year, and he was named Billboard’s Songwriter of the Year two years in a row. In June 2004, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented Thomas with its first-ever “Starlight Award” – created to recognize a songwriter in the early years of his or her career who is already making a lasting impact. Rob’s composing talent has also been acknowledged with cover stories in American Songwriter (which named him songwriter of the year) and Performing Songwriter. Among his many honors, in 2001 Rob was inducted into the South Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Thomas – who grew up in such South Carolina cities as Lake City, Turbeville, and Columbia – became the youngest-ever member of the Hall of Fame. The award placed him in the company of such South Carolinian legends as James Brown, Minnie Pearl, and Dizzy Gillespie. Rob and his wife have established Sidewalk Angels Foundation, a non-profit organization created to aid those in need in and around America’s big cities – working with various charities to assist people who are destitute or homeless and get lost in the system; those who cannot afford proper medical care; and animals that have been abandoned or abused. Sidewalk Angels Foundation takes its name from the lyrics to Thomas’ solo recording, “A New York Christmas.” First released in 2002, the single’s sales that year benefited Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, N.Y. Reissued for Christmas 2003, the single’s proceeds were given to Pets Alive, a no-kill animal shelter in Middletown, NY. In August 2004, a benefit concert in New York City featuring Rob, Jewel, Daryl Hall, and Rhett Miller raised over $100,000 for Sidewalk Angels, which in turn donated the evening’s proceeds to Pets Alive. Born on a military base in West Germany, Rob spent much of his youth shuttling between his grandmother in South Carolina and his mom in Florida. After dropping out of both high school and his difficult home life, the 17-year-old drifted around the Southeast, hitchhiking and crashing where he could. The only constant in his life was music, an inspiring soundtrack that included artists ranging from Al Green and Van Morrison to Elvis Costello and Elton John. He released the pressures of his life in his songwriting, at the same time developing his signature vocal style while fronting a number of local rock bands – which ultimately led to the formation of matchbox twenty. With the forthcoming release of his debut solo album, Thomas begins a new chapter in his remarkable musical journey. Rob Thomas cool in saddle By ANN MARIE MCQUEEN, SUN MEDIA OTTAWA -- Rob Thomas is no temperamental rock star. I completely forgot he was scheduled to call for a phone interview several weeks ago, having become sidetracked by a story I was writing for the next day's paper. I didn't know what else to do but come clean. Thomas didn't skip a beat. "What's the news story?" he asked. Thomas continued to ask questions while I explained. Later I warned him that I might ask some dumb questions, since I hadn't done my research. "I appreciate your confession," he said. "You know what? I think we'll be fine." The next thing I could think to say to the easygoing Matchbox Twenty frontman - who tells me he's in his New York City kitchen - is that I'm surprised he's even doing interviews to promote his solo tour, which stops at the Jubilee Auditorium tomorrow. After all, his debut solo album ... Something to Be, entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1. It was the first time a male artist from a rock or pop group achieved such a feat in the Billboard chart's 50-year history. The album has already produced a trio of recognizable radio hits: Lonely No More, This is How a Heart Breaks and Ever the Same. And Matchbox Twenty, which has been around for a decade now, sold more than 20 million copies of their first three albums. "Am I too big for interviews?" said Thomas, laughing. "There was a shift ... I think we all remembered when it happened, when U2 came out with All That You Can't Leave Behind and they went back out and did all the radio again ... And there was a shift in the business that was like, 'Oh s---, everybody has to work now.' " Thomas stresses Matchbox Twenty is still a band, and he did the solo album because they took a break, and not vice versa. The group even played together in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve and have definite plans to come back and record another album. Doing the solo stuff is freeing for Thomas, if only because he can record music outside of the Matchbox sound and make decisions outside of the politics of the band. "So I know when I write a song, like Lonely No More is a great example because if I would have written that song and we were headed to make a Matchbox record, I wouldn't have even brought it to the band," said Thomas. "They would have been like, 'No.' " Thomas, who hit it big when he took a detour to record Smooth for Carlos Santana's 1999 album Supernatural, also has plans to start his own record label, courting and building emerging artists. "I don't have any desire to be an actor or any desire to be a clothing designer or to start a clothing company," he said. "But there's so many things in music, you know, producing, and a label, I have so many friends that are like these really great songwriters that I meet. And I really believe that, in like two records, they will be there." Source: edmontonsun.com |
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