Tom Verlaine - words from the front, 1982

Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in 1949 in Morristown, New Jersey. He co-founded Television in 1973 with Richard Lloyd. Verlaine's unique style of playing the guitar, which involves intricate finger-picking and dissonant chords, has influenced many musicians in the punk and post-punk scenes. He released his first solo album, "Tom Verlaine", in 1979. He was a friend and collaborator of many notable musicians in the New York City music scene of the 1970s, including Patti Smith, Richard Hell, and Brian Eno. Verlaine's work with Television has been described as helping to lay the foundations of the post-punk movement. He has been praised for his songwriting, and is often cited as one of the most influential songwriters of the punk era. Died yesterday.