Music has always been a big part of Tony Coleman’slife As a young toddler, his grandmother discovered that theeasiest way to soothe his cries was to place a transistorradio inside his crib, tuned to whatever music was on theairwaves. Growing up in Florida, he was raised on a steadydiet of soul, jazz, gospel, and rhythm & blues. Drawn to therhythm of the beat, Tony found that percussion came naturalto him, and picked up on drums at an early age.
While blues music was all around the community, from thelocal radio stations to the ever-present juke joints, it was the music of James Brown that really got Tony excited about exploring music as afull-time passion. With a new breed of soul-funk music thatpushed the drums as a dominant element, it was hard to ignorethe underlying rhythm of the music by (Mr. Dynamite.) WhenTony heard James Brown perform a line in the song (ColdSweat) that asked the band to “give the drummer some,†aspark was ignited, and Tony knew, more than ever, that hewould become a full-time drummer.
Of course, when your father happened to be Canton (King)Coleman, a famous band leader, radio disc jockey, and MC,that would certainly encourage an interest in the world ofmusic. In fact, when James Brown was having some problemswith his record label over the recording of (Mashed Potatoes- part 1,) it was King Coleman that provided lead vocals forthe original 1959 recording on Dade Records. While his fathermay not be active in the industry anymore, choosing a life ofministry over music, there was a time when (King) Coleman wasundoubtedly the biggest influence on Tony Coleman’s musicalcareer.
Drums were certainly an ongoing passion for a young TonyColeman. His school notebooks were often filled with doodlesillustrating his musical aspirations, creating little stickfigures of different musicians. Until he purchased a realdrum set, he would often carve old tree branches into theshape of drumsticks using kitchen pots and pans for thedrums.
As a young junior in high school, Tony got his firstprofessional gig backing up a local disc jockey that wanted alive drummer to accompany him at the regular teen danceparties. Playing alongside all the latest records, Tonydeveloped his skills by playing with all sorts of popularmusic. Around town, word was getting out that the show to seewas (Rudy A Go Go and Tony Coleman, the funky drummer.)
A short time later, opportunity knocked when a regionalsoul!R&B band by the name of
Bobby Wiffiams and the Markings offered Tony an opportunityto join their assemblage.
Bobby Williams and the Markings were a popular 14 piece bandin the James Brown mold of music, mixing popular cover songswith some original compositions. With 4 horn players, 2guitarists, a bassist, a keyboard player, a lead singer,back-up singers, dancers, and 2 drummers, it was a big changefor Tony Coleman as he entered the big time, touring with thegroup in the Deep South in a converted double decker tourbus. While Tony was still considered a minor when be was amember of this group, he wasn’t allowed inside the clubs heperformed at, unless he was actually performing.
In 1973, Tony was ready to try something different when heenlisted in the US army. After 3 years of military servicethat took him to different parts of the world, Tony movedback to Florida. He enrolled in graphic design courses atnight school. After realizing that he wasn’t reaching anycareer goals in this particular situation, he decided to liveout his real dreams, and move out to Chicago in 1977 withsome old Army buddies to create a new music group. The groupfell apart. As luck would have it, Cloridale Walton, was asinger with the Otis Clay band. Cloridale made a point ofintroducing Tony to Otis Clay, whose band had just dissolved,with only his guitar player, Leonard Gill, remaining. Asbassist Russell Jackson was also looking to join a group. NowOtis Clay had a new rhythm section.
The years with Otis Clay were an exciting time for TonyColeman, as he toured around the world, and recorded a liveconcert in Tokyo. Working with a world-renowned band, manynew doors were opened to Tony. He had plenty of opportunityto meet and mingle with other great musicians, doingoccasional back-up shows for Buddy Guy, O.V. Wright, andTyrone Davis, to name but a few. After a jam session with B.B.King and the Otis Clay Band at a Chicago club, B.B. Kingdecided he liked what he heard, and hired members of the OtisClay Band to become his new touring band. Keeping only hisdrummer from his previous touring band, B.B. King performedwith two drummers for a few months.
Tony returned to Chicago, and rejoined the Otis Clay Band fora tour of Japan. As one of the most sought-after drummers inthe Chicago blues community, Tony was weighing differentoptions when he received an offer from Johnnie Taylor to playin his band. So Tony moved to Dallas in 1980, where he workedfull-time with Johnnie’s band. After a few years withJohnnie, Bobby Bland offered Tony a position with his band,and Tony moved from Dallas to Memphis, where Bobby washeadquartered. For years, Tony worked with Bobby Bland.
All this time, B.B. King kept in touch with Tony, letting himknow in no uncertain terms, that if there was ever an openingfor a drummer in his band, B.B. would like to work with Tonyagain. During the middle of a tour featuring both B.B. Kingand Bobby Bland, B.B. needed a drummer, and Tony wound upperforming in both bands before rejoining B.B.’s bandfull-time.
Working with B.B. King has been one of the fuffilling momentsin Tony’s life. Reuniting with his old band mates LeonardGill and Russell Jackson, Tony was honored to work with theman recognized all over the world as the world’s greatestblues ambassador. For ten years, Tony worked with B.B. beforedeciding in 1999 that it was time for him to do his ownthing.
Things have certainly not slowed down for Mr. Tony Coleman,as he takes his great talents to new levels. He continues torecord, tour, write, and play a bit of golf when he gets thechance. Expanding on his career options, he’s appeared in acommercial for the Calloway Golf Company, showcasing histalents as an actor and songwriter. He’s also written a fewjingles for Northwest Airlines, and continues to explore newavenues in the entertainment industry. In 1998, he was votedthe (best R&B drummer) by his peers in the DRUM MAGAZINE. Hehas also been nominated best R&B drummer many times in MODERNDRUMMER MAGAZINE.
