Thomas McClary Biography, Videos & Pictures
Thomas McClary Facts
| Name: Thomas McClary | Guitars: Fender, Gibson, PRS, Taylor |
| Born: October 6, 1949 | Amplifiers: Various |
| Origin: Eustis, Florida | |
| Bands: The Commodores, Solo Artist, | |
| Links: Official Website, Facebook | |
Thomas McClary was born on October 6, 1949 in Eustis, Florida. Not many people realize this, but Thomas was one of the first African American students to be integrated into the Florida school system before segregation laws were put into place. He is best known as the guitarist and founding member of The Commodores. You younger guitarists out there, who might not be familiar with the music of The Commodores, should check out songs like “Brick House”, “Easy”, “Machine Gun”, and “Sail On”.
The story of how Thomas initially started The Commodores is quite surreal. It just goes to show that you never know where or when you might meet someone with whom you will have awesome musical chemistry. Thomas was in line to enroll at Tuskegee Institute in 1968. The guy behind him was whistling an Eddie Harris tune when Thomas asked him if he was a musician. That man who claimed to not be a musician turned out to be the one and only Lionel Richie. Long story short, they ended up forming one of the most influential funk/soul/pop groups in history . . . The Commodores!
Thomas’ vision was to create a musical group that would stand the test of time and come to be known as the “Black Beatles”. Well, he was successful to say the least. Originally The Commodores were named The Mystics, but that name didn’t seem to quite fit. The story goes that William King opened a dictionary and randomly picked out the word “Commodore”. The rest is history. The Commodores started out playing local parties on the Tuskegee college campus. In 1974 the song “Machine Gun” really put them on the map and the hits kept coming. Shortly after that, The Commodores broke the Beatles attendance record by drawing over 274,000 fans to a show in the Philippines.
If you take a look at the pictures and videos that Thomas appears in throughout the years you will spy him playing a myriad of different types of guitars. Thomas’ funky rhythm chops, soulful leads, and the fact that he co-wrote the song “Brick House” have all earned him the nick-name Mr. Brick House.
In 1982 Thomas left The Commodores to pursue his own solo career and start a gospel music company. His most current project, entitled “Revolution Not A Revival”, is a modern sounding album that covers quite a bit of ground. You get tastes of Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, and rock in this inspirational package. One of the coolest things about this album is the collaboration between Thomas and his son Ryan.
From 2000 – 2007 Thomas served as Director of Music at his local church. Thomas still stays busy with music, his family and The Thomas McClary Foundation, which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality. You can check out Thomas McClary’s official website here.
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