Hall & Oates bassist T-Bone Wolk dies
Tom (T-Bone) Wolk, who played bass guitar for Daryl Hall and John Oates for 29 years, has died. He was 58.
Hall & Oates band manager Jonathan Wolfson says Wolk died Sunday of an apparent heart attack in Pawling, N.Y., where he had been recording a solo album with Daryl Hall.
He has been resident musical director and often co-producer for Hall & Oates, the pop-rock duo who first came to fame in the 1970s and continue to play together.
“His musical sensibility was peerless, any instrument that he touched resonated with a sensitivity and skill level that I have never experienced while playing with any other musician,” John Oates said in a statement posted to his website Monday.
“He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of styles and musical history which he referenced to support all the artists that he played with over the years. He became our band’s musical director over time leading by example and by the deference and respect that everyone who played alongside him so rightfully accorded him. He made everyone he played with better. ”
Wolk was a talented session musician, who also played acoustic guitar, accordion, mandolin, mandocello, hammered dulcimer and pump organ.
He was a member of the Saturday Night Live house band from 1986 to 1992, appearing on screen playing bass.
Born and raised in Yonkers, N.Y., Wolk studied art at Cooper Union Art School in New York, but spent most of his time playing in bars.
He played with various musicians in the 1970s, including Billy Vera, drummer Chris Parker and funk artist Lonnie Mack.
After winning a spot with Hall & Oates in 1981, he continued working with a range of other artists, including Carly Simon, Elvis Costello, Roseanne Cash, Amanda Marshall, Diane Ziegler, Charlie Musselwhite, Avril Lavigne and Billy Joel.
He owns 50 or 60 instruments, including the Gibson Ripper, which is one of his favourite bass guitars.
Wolfson says Wolk was preparing to appear Monday with Hall & Oates on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
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