Tommy Sims

Tommy Sims makes “all kinds of music” for people from “all kinds of genres” You name it “Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Blues”, his songs and productions have made an appearance in just about every category that exists in modern music. One glance at the list of acts that he has worked with over his short career and you get the picture. It is a very broad picture. He has a deep and intense love for the art form. He has nurtured this affection for as long as he or those who have known him the longest can recall. He is without question, an anomaly in his time. A bit of a throwback to the days of one of his chief heroes, Quincy Jones. As for his songwriting style, His deeply personal songs describe everyday people's feelings and experiences. Though he's written and produced songs for such major artists as Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson, BlackStreet, CeCe Winans, The Neville Brothers and Garth Brooks, his album contains some of the most introspective and profound music he has ever made. With much pride and humility for a man with such a tremendous musical resume, the self-professed music junkie presents his music every time as a new mother presents her first-born child. Growing up in Chicago, Sims' household had more than its share of musical inspiration. His mother was a tremendous singer, and she often filled the room with the sounds of songstresses such as Dorothy Love Coates and Aretha Franklin. His mother's parents were devout churchgoers and so Tommy was mostly exposed to gospel tunes as a young boy, until his uncles came around and exposed him to the soul music of a neighboring city (Detroit) that was quickly defining the lives and times of young black (and white) America. It wasn't until Tommy was eight or so that his eyes were fully opened to many other types of music. First, he discovered local Chicago AM radio station, WLS. Second, Sims’ father, an avid record collector, re-entered Tommy's life. Thus began Sims' exposure to a vast array of musical experiences. Tommy’s father proudly exposed him to a collection that was comprised of both mainstream R&B artists like Barry White and Otis Redding and more esoteric choices such as Jose Feliciano and Tony Orlando. The two would sit around and listen to selections all night through which his father (often to Tommy’s chagrin) would narrate on and on about the history of the act and the music itself. Sims realized in these moments, "Music was in my blood. I was hooked." Around this time his father had remarried and Tommy's new stepbrother started taking bass guitar lessons. Tommy began to live vicariously through his brother until one day he simply grabbed the bass and started playing. The instructor proclaimed him a natural at age 11. From there, Tommy's cousin would become his instructor handing down to him an old beat up Sears bass and six weeks of rudimentary lessons. Within a year he’d jumped to the six-string guitar, then, in his teens to the piano. At 12-years-old, Sims was making his first attempts at writing songs. "I think the first song I wrote, I just took a Commodores jam called "Sweet Love" and penned my own lyrics over the top of it."