BIOGRAPHY
GENRE: ROCK
Ty Crook's life reads like a rock documentary. Both his parents were signed to Memphis-based Stax Records (home of Otis Redding, and Booker T. and the MG's) when he was born. His great-grandmother was an opera singer who immigrated from Italy. Once here, she sang opera and Italian songs on her own radio show. Her son, Ty's grandfather, was a musician and on the road by age fourteen. Later, he played saxophone in an Army band during World War II and with acts like the Tony Bennett Band, along with many others. His sister, Ty's great aunt, is Anita Kerr, session arranger and founder of The Anita Kerr Singers. Great-aunt Anita was the first woman to conduct the Royal London Symphony, and was the vocal embodiment of the "Nashville Sound," which dominated country music in the mid 1950s and 1960s. With all that, Ty Crook was destined to be a phenomenal talent. But there is more to Ty's story. Much more.
Ty's parents divorced when he was small. It was a rough and tumble divorce, as the marriage had been. Ty was young and vulnerable and the divorce affected him deeply. When Stax closed, Ty's father, Wayne Crook, opened a recording studio in Memphis. There, Ty got most of his musical education. It was a popular studio in its day. Dr. John recorded in it. So did Al Green and Isaac Hayes. Ty met many greats in that studio and he learned from them all.
But life was not all fun and games. One night a man followed his mother home from a gig. He intended to kill her but his mom jumped from a speeding car before that happened. Ty became so traumatized by the event that he began to keep a toy gun under his bed. He also became the family protector. He was six. By the time Ty was fourteen, he was performing live gigs and doing session work on local recording sessions for commercials. When most kids were still playing with toys, Ty was playing musical instruments. Those were his toys.
Ty also learned to play drums, bass, piano and guitar. Ty's mom was singing in the Elvin Bishop Band ("Fooled Around and Fell in Love") and when she remarried he moved with her to Northern California. They settled in a rough neighborhood and Ty joined a gang. Drugs and gang warfare became part of Ty's daily life. When he was about fifteen a guy followed Ty down street and Ty pulled out a weapon. It's just the way life was.
Later, when his mom went on the road with Roy Orbison, Ty moved back to Memphis. When Ty was nineteen he signed a management contract with Gene Simmons of KISS. This was the fulfillment of a childhood dream and the first of three times the rock legend popped into Ty's life. Nothing came of it, however, so Ty again spent a great deal of time in his dad's studio. His father became his vocal coach and they worked day after day to bring out the best in Ty's voice. The hard work paid off. Ty began singing jingles for Nissan and more than three-dozen other companies. His dad produced Ty's first demo and Ty was quickly signed to Chrysalis/EMI. Things were going well until EMI bought out Chrysalis and Ty got lost in the shuffle.
Instead of the solo rock career he had envisioned, Ty toured as the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Child's Play. He moved to Baltimore, then back to Memphis where he recorded more jingles. Then he relocated to Los Angeles to join his sister, Lauri, who had some movie contacts, so Ty joined SAG (the Screen Actor's Guild). He began composing music for and dubbed a lot of singing for movie stars in more than a dozen films for TriStar Pictures and Polygram Entertainment. "Because I spent all that time in the studio growing up I could nail a part pretty fast," said Ty. "I could watch a video of the star signing and match my mouth movements with theirs on a first take. I became an expert at it." To fill the rest of his time he recorded music for television shows and spent four years in a rock band with Lauri called Crooked Tom that packed every house with their impressive musicianship and raw feel. Within weeks of forming, Crooked Tom was signed to management and was doing music for films.
Ty, who has been writing songs since he was ten, said while he loves everything about recording music, he is ecstatic every minute he is on stage. "I am obsessed about playing live. I love it for the way it makes me feel because it is the only time I feel comfortable with myself. I love the onstage beat, the sound, the vibe. It's the only time I feel whole. On stage is where I feel real and between times I am kind of lost."
He means that in every sense of the word because there is a dark side to Ty's story. Along with all the wonderful opportunities he had to be exposed to the music industry at its highest levels, he was also exposed at a very young age to drugs. The fact is, from an early age Ty lived in a drug-infested world. He was a witness to physical violence, and personally suffered from it. You can clearly hear just how badly he suffered by listening to his lyrics. Music and drugs were all Ty knew and he feels fortunate that an intervention saved him from the drugs before it was too late. He now focuses on the joy that making music gives him and others.
It doesn't take much to get Ty to pull out his guitar and launch into an emotional roller-coaster tune that leaves several people in the room with damp eyes. He then switches to a grooving rock melody that dries the eyes and gets all the feet tapping. His passion is catching.
After Crooked Tom folded, back in Memphis, Ty started the wild rock band Thrust, and was its lead singer. The band, he said, was filled with truly gifted performers. They shared the bill with such awesome talent as members of Saliva, Shinedown, Tora Tora, Blue Oyster Cult, and many more. Thrust was signed to a production deal, which included the recording of twenty tracks and two music videos.
Recently, Ty has performed at many festivals, including Memphis in May. Wherever he does a radio interview, Ty's songs invariably end up as the top requested song of the day. He also loves performing at benefits for children, including any event connected with Toys for Tots. As for his live shows, there have been too many to count, "Some of the rock clubs in Memphis stayed open until six a.m. and we were doing five sets of originals every night," said Ty. Ty has performed at many venues, including headlining at New York City's Limelight, Baltimore's Hammerjacks, the famous New Daisy Theatre on Memphis's Beale Street, and the Cat Club and the Jackson Coliseum in Los Angeles.
Ty feels that music should not have rules; that there shouldn't be a recipe that you follow. Instead, he says music should come from the heart, from the soul, from the essence of your being and it is easy to understand that, unlike a lot of other artists, his does. "My music focuses on intense, raw emotion and feelings. That's what I grew up with," said Ty. "Making music, good music that really touches people, touches their soul, is all I am interested in." You can't be in the same room with Ty Crook without knowing that in an instant. His music is who he is. And his music is good. Very, very good.
Today Ty is working with several writers and producers, developing his catalog, and preparing for a new record release. He graciously gives thanks to the High for such a gift, and to all whom have helped make it all possible.
QUICK FACTS
GENRE: ROCK
- Signed a management contract with Gene Simmons of KISS when he was just 19 years old.
- Dubbed vocals for over a dozen films for Tri-Star pictures and Polygram Entertainment.
- Has been writing songs since the young age of 10.
- Shortly after releasing his very first demo, was signed to Chrysalis (now EMI).
- Has performed at New York City's Limelight, Baltimore's Hammerjacks, the famous New Daisy Theatre on Memphis's Beale Street, and the Cat Club and the Jackson Coliseum in Los Angeles.
- Wrote jingles for Nissan and over three dozen other companies.
- Has performed in many festivals from L.A. to Memphis including Memphis in May.