Tommy Conwell's Aggressive Pop

Wednesday, September 21, 1988 
By Kathi Whalen 
Section: Style; Page C10 Length: 178 words

Tommy Conwell's Aggressive Pop

Philadelphia's Tommy Conwell has suffered links with one of his home town's biggest pop exports, the Hooters, but in fact he's steeped in the leaner bar band sounds and attitude of George Thorogood. Monday night at the Bayou, Conwell and his band, the Young Rumblers, barreled through time-tested R+B licks that they, unlike Thorogood, have resourcefully fitted into strong pop originals. 

Conwell's aggressive personality was a plus in keeping the sold-out crowd attentive on this first date of his national tour. Or at least the stamina was laudable -- his ho-hum repertoire of rebel-yell calls, which the audience never failed to shout back, sounded ridiculous coming from a young Northern boy.

Fortunately, the set proved he's mastered a more difficult art -- conjuring pop songs that blend irresistible hooks with a light rockabilly beat. "Workout" summed up the bluesy undertone that competed all night with ebullient Top 40 tunes such as "Half a Heart" and "I'm Not Your Man," but coupled in the same set they gave Conwell that elusive signature sound.

Roll With My Baby (live) - Ellipsis Plays the Music of Ray Charles featuring Tommy Conwell

Ray Charles was born today - September 23, 1930. We lost this legendary music pioneer in 2004.

"Ray Charles re-shaped the genre of soul music...fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles" as well as "racially integrating country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success...most notably with his Modern Sounds albums."

So today - on what would have been the music great's 84^th birthday - listen to  a cover of "Roll With My Baby" performed by Tommy Conwell and the jazz ensemble, Ellipsis, in 2009.

Moanin' (live) - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers

"Moanin'" performed by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers at the Empire Concert Club in Cleveland, Ohio, 1990. Promoting Guitar Trouble. Recorded live on 100.7 WMMS radio.

Audio Rumble Presents | A Tommy Conwell Rockumentary | Beginnings

This is the second installment in Audio Rumble's Tommy Conwell rockumentary.

UT-Dallas Emerging Media and Communication grad student DJ Caterina creates a rockumentary on Philadelphia guitar player, Tommy Conwell. This film is a curation of videos, songs and performances (documentary-style) and features an exclusive interview with Tommy Conwell about his musical influences, his role as a performer, old interviews and exclusive video and audio footage.

This is the official submission of a capstone project for completion of the Masters of Arts (MA) in Emerging Media and Communication degree at the University of Texas at Dallas.

All material within used for educational purposes only and is protected by individual copyright.

Audio Rumble Presents | A Tommy Conwell Rockumentary | Intro

This is the first installment in Audio Rumble's Tommy Conwell rockumentary.

UT-Dallas Emerging Media and Communication grad student DJ Caterina creates a rockumentary on Philadelphia guitar player, Tommy Conwell. This film is a curation of Tommy Conwell videos, songs and performances (documentary-style) and features an exclusive interview with Tommy Conwell about his musical influences, his role as a performer, old interviews and exclusive video and audio footage.

This is the official submission of a capstone project for completion of the Masters of Arts (MA) in Emerging Media and Communication degree at the University of Texas at Dallas.

All material within used for educational purposes only and is protected by individual copyright.

Tommy Conwell at Walsh's Tavern - 1995

Tommy Conwell. On guitar. With a band. At Walsh's Tavern. In the town that rocked the nation, Philadelphia, PA. Vids courtesy of DocKunkle on YouTube. 

When I invent a Hot Tub Time Machine, you'll find me here at Walsh's...

A cover of The Fabulous Thunderbirds' Wait on Time.

Scotland the Brave

Walkin' To My Baby [another Fab T-Birds cover]

"TC Jazz Tip"