Tommy Funderburk

Tommy Funderburk has been intimately involved in the music industry for over thirty years, starting at the age of 9 as a touring member of RCA Records’ The Charlotte Boys Choir. As a teenager, Tommy opened for many legendary artists including Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers (whose guitarist was then unknown Jimi Hendrix), Jackie Wilson, Wilson Pickett, Ike & Tina Turner, Booker T & the MGs, Sam and Dave, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Percy Sledge, and The Allman Brothers Band.

After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Tommy accepted an invitation from internationally loved Gospel artist, Andrae Crouch, to move to California and join Andrae’s Gospel group The Disciples. Soon after moving to Los Angeles, Tommy was invited by founding pastor, Ken Gulliksen, to become the original worship leader of the first Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

Tommy established his recording career as lead vocalist in the critically acclaimed group, Airplay, which included founding members David Foster and Jay Graydon. One of the defining albums of the ‘West Coast’ sound, the album featured the original recording of the classic number one song, After The Love Is Gone and is regarded by fans as “The ‘Bible’ of West Coast Music”.

In 1985, Tommy formed the acclaimed group The Front, which was honored by Contemporary Christian Magazine as Christian album of the year and has the honor of being the very first Christian album to be released on the then new Compact Disc format.

As a recording artist, songwriter and music producer for RCA, BMG, MCA, Polydor and Pioneer music labels, Tommy has performed on hundreds of recordings including many international and Grammy-winning hits by artists as diverse as Boston, Celine Dion, Jimmy Page, Andrae Crouch, Earth Wind and Fire, David Foster, Whitesnake, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Steve Lukather, David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Poison, Dwight Yoakam, Yes, T Bone Burnette, Tom Jones, ToTo, Bon Jovi, Henry Mancini, Rick Springfield, Julio Iglesias, Oliva Newton John, Juice Newton, Chris Hillman, Barry Manilow, Lee Ritenour, Timothy B Schmidt, Heart, Rodney Crowell, Cher, Melissa Manchester, Spinal Tap, Elton John, Sammy Hagar, Eddie Money, Sheena Easton, Twisted Sister, Clint Black, Cheap Trick, Tracy Chapman, Steven Bishop, Nancy Griffith, Bad Company, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Paul Young, Larry Carlton, Burt Bacharach, Bad Company, Manhattan Transfer, Pat Benatar, REO Speed Wagon, Motley Crue, Jefferson Starship, Al Jarreau, Chicago and many others.

Tommy and writing partner Martin Page penned the international hit, It’s Not Enough for Jefferson Starship, which was recognized as the “Most Played Rock Song” of 1991 by BMI. That same year Tommy sang lead vocals on the original Promise Keepers album and toured as worship leader with the Promise Keepers, ministering to over 1 million men in football stadiums across America.

Tommy’s vocal work on the 11 million selling international hit album, Whitesnake, brought him to work with Led Zeppelin founder, Jimmy Page on the multi-platinum Coverdale – Page CD. In 1993, Tommy was recruited by Tom Scholtz, founder of the super group Boston, to handle lead vocals on the band’s Walk On CD..

In 1999, Tommy joined lead vocalists Bobby Kimball, (Toto), Jason Scheff (Chicago), Joseph Williams (ToTo) and Bill Champlin (Chicago) on the critically acclaimed a cappella album the West Coast Allstars

In 2003, Tommy recruited the COO of Capital Records, the VP of finance and Sr. VP of sales and marketing for Warner Bros. Music and founded one of the first Internet focused music labels, Sovereign Artists. As label head, Tommy signed a diverse roster of talent, including Rock & Roll Legends, The Crickets, (whose album featured Eric Clapton, Phil & Jason Everly, Graham Nash, Waylon Jennings, J D Souther, John Prine, Albert Lee, Bobby Vee and other Buddies on vocals), the multi-platinum, Grammy winning, rock legends, Heart, Grammy winner, Don Grusin and six-time Grammy winner, Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 2005, Don Grusin’s album, The Hang, received the Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album of the year and in 2006, Dee Dee Bridgewater received the Grammy nomination for Best Jazz vocalist.

In 2013, Tommy founded Muzit, Inc., an online media company that employs both proprietary technology and a unique, fan friendly business model to empower owners of copyrighted, digital content to identify and market directly to the vast, unmonetized global P2P community.

Tommy continues to write and record with his partner, Bruce Gaitsch for their band, King of Hearts, having released albums on the Chrysalis, Polydor and Pioneer labels.

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