TOM VERLAINE,
1949-2023

Tom Verlaine, the influential guitarist whose band Television was a central force in New York’s punk scene of the 1970s, died Saturday (1/28) in Manhattan. He was 73.

Patti Smith’s daughter, Jesse Paris Smith, announced his death, saying it followed a brief illness.

While Television made only two albums during its initial incarnation, Verlaine’s singing, songwriting and guitar-playing separated the band from the rest of the burgeoning lower-Manhattan punk scene. Its songs were longer and more menacing; Verlaine and second guitarist Richard Lloyd played winding and angular solos that mirrored free jazz and drew comparisons to the Grateful Dead while rooted in the drive of garage rock.

Verlaine channeled a huge range of influences. Among them were John Coltrane and Albert Ayler, classic 1950s film scores and contemporary Eastern European classical composers as well as French writers of the 19th century. Born Thomas Miller (in Denville, N.J.), he adopted the surname of Verlaine in honor of the poet.

Verlaine and Richard Hell (né Richard Meyers) met at a Delaware boarding school, later moving to New York and forming the Neon Boys with drummer Billy Ficca. They formed Television in 1973 after meeting Lloyd.

In need of a place to perform, Verlaine convinced the owner of a bar on the Bowery to let his band play there by saying its sound fit in with those of the country, bluegrass and blues bands that frequented the venue. The quartet thereafter built a stage at CBGB and began a Sunday-night residency in March 1974, which would lead to the club's booking the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads.

After releasing the single “Little Johnny Jewel” on Ork Records in 1975, Television signed with Elektra and Fred Smith replaced Hell, who left to form The Voidoids. It released Marquee Moon in 1977. While sales were tepid, the reviews were solid and the album’s influence has grown over the decades; it is often high on lists of best debuts and best albums of the 1970s.

The 1978 follow-up, Adventure, featured a softer sound yet fared no better commercially. The band broke up in July 1978 and Verlaine released seven solo albums. Television reunited for a self-titled solo album on Capitol in 1992. It continued to perform sporadically for decades after that. Verlaine’s final release came out in 2006.

Michael Stipe wrote on Instagram: “I've lost a hero. Bless you Tom Verlaine for the songs, the lyrics, the voice! And later the laughs, the inspiration, the stories, and the rigorous belief that music and art can alter and change matter, lives, experience. You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down. I am forever grateful.”

Sleater-Kinney posted a statement on Facebook: “While there are many guitar players whom we admire, there are very few whose work informed our approach to playing and writing. Tom Verlaine was one of those guitarists. It was not only his serpentine style—jagged yet shimmering, capable of story-like melodies—but also how he played in conversation with his bandmate and fellow guitarist, Richard Lloyd. The intertwining of notes, completing each other’s sentences, toying with consonance and dissonance, beautifully colliding then breaking away; telling us so much without a single word. While Marquee Moon was seminal, Adventure burrowed deeper. I can’t think of a song that informed the entirety of our guitar playing on The Hot Rock more than ‘Days.’ Thank you, Tom Verlaine, for guiding us. May you rest in peace. ‘Days, be more than all we have.’”

vurnt22 SongOfTheDay 01/28/23 Little Johnny Jewel, by Television. Tom Verlaine was a guitarist of bravado, nuance, weirdness & formality. I’ve heard hints of the influence of both Fripp & Howe in bits of his playing, running counter to Punk orthodoxy.
In a way?
The MOST Punk
🌹

— Vernon Reid (@vurnt22) January 29, 2023

Tom Verlaine 1949-2023

"I've lost a hero.... You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down. I am forever grateful." - Michael Stipe pic.twitter.com/csmxXhKPht

— R.E.M. HQ (@remhq) January 29, 2023

listened to Marquee Moon 1000 times. And I mean LISTENED, sitting still, lights down low taking it all in. awe and wonder every time. Will listen 1000 more. Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever. He effected the way John and I play immeasurably. Fly on Tom.

— Flea (@flea333) January 29, 2023

#television was a perfect, utterly unique band #tomverlaine was the perfect (anti)rockstar.
Huge influence, constant reference & much more than #MarqueeMoon.
Punk for nonpunks, prog for nonprogs, guitarsolos for people who think they dont like guitarsolos 💔glad I saw him live pic.twitter.com/s2ATa0EI4O

— Peter Bjorn and John (@PeterBjornJohn) January 29, 2023

Beautifully lyrical guitarist, underrated vocalist. Television made a new kind of music and inspired new kinds of music. Marquee Moon is a perfect record. Requiescat.
🎈https://t.co/uxt7IMz2rO

— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) January 28, 2023

I met Tom Verlaine when he just arrived in NYC I guess '72. He had long hair and came to my apartment with an acoustic guitar and played some songs he'd written. Both Tom and Richard Hell have told me that I auditioned for the Neon Boys but I don't remember.

— Cʜʀɪs Sᴛᴇɪɴ (@chrissteinplays) January 28, 2023

Tom Verlaine...proud to say he once played lead guitar on one of my songs, the most brilliant studio guitar playing I ever heard. 1 listen to master the song, invent an all-time killer riff + design its harmonic comet tail. Played 5 takes, each a monster. https://t.co/BptK2z7unJ

— Mike Scott (@MickPuck) January 28, 2023

To even describe Tom Verlaine’s musical brilliance with the definition of punk, Post punk, etc. is ludicrous, since he was completely unique as a guitar player,songwriter & lyricist. A melodic philosopher with six strings has left us. RIP pic.twitter.com/LjWZC854SY

— Michael Des Barres (@MDesbarres) January 29, 2023

Tom Verlaine...first heard on Patti Smith's "Hey Joe" and "Break It Up", and Television's "Little Johnny Jewel", the most incredible, otherwordly guitar playing. Jazzblown, fantastic, inspired. Never surpassed, never equalled except by himself. #TomVerlaine

— Mike Scott (@MickPuck) January 28, 2023

Most nights we walk onstage to Marquee Moon- RIP to Tom Verlaine, the realest deal

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) January 28, 2023

I am running out of words, though not out of love and respect, or tears. So crucially important to me, my music and playing - this goes beyond music to an aesthetic, a vision, a VIBE. I could write so much. Right now I just deeply bow to the beauty, to the enigma of Tom Verlaine. pic.twitter.com/Y7sIv1Qf43

— Nels Cline (@nelscline) January 29, 2023