Tom Keifer, of Cinderalla
Biography:
Tom grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at a young age. By the time he reached his teens, Tom discovered rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and Bad Company. Tom was interested to know what kind of music influenced these bands, so he did some research by finding and listening to old blues records by Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King. Tom soon fell in love with the blues and was heavily influenced by this kind of music.
Tom joined his first rock band while in junior high school. He soon learned to play the electric guitar. The young musician struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during this time, and considered dropping out of school to pursue a music career. However, Tom’s mother Adrienne, bribed her son to stay in school by promising him a Gibson Les Paul guitar upon graduation.
Soon, Tom conquered his addictions, and began to focus on a career as a musician. He had started writing original material.
Cinderella was discovered by Jon Bon Jovi in 1985, at the Empire Rock Club in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Jon has been quoted as saying “I saw Tommy Keifer onstage delivering some pretty nifty, growling vocals. Then he whipped out this Les Paul and proceeded to lay into some astounding sounds. This guy struck me as a star right then and there.”
Unfortunately, after the Heartbreak Station tour Tom lost his voice. He underwent several operations to no avail. Eventually it was determined that he had nodules on his vocal cords and paralysis of the left cord. To make matters worse, his mother died of cancer. By 1994, Cinderella had managed to released their fourth album, Still Climbing, which received little attention. The band broke up in 1995.
Keifer continued to have surgery to remove nodules on his vocal cords. Tom also battled depression. He was forced to learn how to sing again because of the paralysis of his left cord, but he eventually began working on material for a solo album. He and Emily divorced, and he settled in Nashville, Tennessee. Here, he continued to work on his solo album. The album was put on hold after Cinderella reunited in 1997 and toured in 1998
Today, Tom is married to songwriter Savannah Snow. They recently had their first child, a son named Jaidan.Tom and Cinderella recently completed their 20th anniversary tour with fellow rock veterans Poison, who were also celebrating 20 years in the business of both bands’ first albums.
Tom Keifer recently said that his solo album will be released shortly, and a new album from Cinderella is possible somewhere down the road, though not immediately.
Also Cinderella plans to tour in 2008. The bands have not been announced yet.
Discography:
Night Songs (1986) 3X Platinum
Long Cold Winter (1988) 3X Platinum
Heartbreak Station (1990) Platinum
Still Climbing (1994) Live Train to Heartbreak Station (1991)
Live at the Key Club (1999)
In Concert (2004)
Extended Versions (2006)
Gypsy Road: Live (2006)
Looking Back (1997)
Once Upon A… (1997)
Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest Hits (2005)
Gold (2006)www.music.podshow.com
April 11th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I was in my early 20s when first saw Cinderella they were the opening act for David Lee Roth’s solo tour. Roth’s band with a top-self guitarest by the name of Steve Vi , wow what a player he was, but i’m here to tell you Tom Keifer and his crew of awesome players blew me away. As the show open i was simply floored by Cinderella’s opening song SHAKE ME, i was hooked and have been every since. I’ve been waiting for another tour from Cinderella as like in the Night Song’s tour !!! Keep rockin guys