Tom Ardolino


Thomas Robert Ardolino was an American rock drummer best known as a member of NRBQ.

Biography

Tom Ardolino was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. A fan of the band, he began corresponding and trading tapes with keyboardist and co-founder Terry Adams. This led to him meeting and befriending the band. At one live show at the Rusty Nail in Sunderland, Massachusetts, when original NRBQ drummer Tom Staley did not return for an encore, Adams invited Ardolino to fill in. He performed well enough that when Staley left the band in 1974, his bandmates agreed that Ardolino was the natural choice as successor.
Ardolino remained in the lineup until the band went on hiatus in 2004, returning for occasional performances with Adams, and contributing to solo recordings by Adams, by NRBQ and others.
While lead vocals were generally performed by other members of NRBQ, live shows often included a moment where Ardolino would take the spotlight and sing, either with a karaoke backing track or with one of the other band members drumming.
Ardolino's solo album Unknown Brain was released in 2004 on CD by Bumble Bee Records, Japan and on vinyl LP in the USA on Mystra Records. The album consists mostly of basement recordings made in 1971–72. The cover states "WARNING: If out-of-tuneness bothers you, do not listen."
He was also an avid collector of song poems, and initiated the "MSR Madness" series of compilations.
Ardolino appeared in a promotional video to campaign for the world premiere of The Simpsons Movie in his hometown of Springfield.
Tom Ardolino died on January 6, 2012, at a Springfield, Massachusetts, hospital; this was reported on the NRBQ Headquarters page on Facebook. A later article from the Washington Post specified the cause as diabetes.

Selected discography

  • All Hopped Up 1978
  • At Yankee Stadium 1978
  • Kick Me Hard 1979
  • Tiddlywinks 1980
  • NRBQ in Person! 1982
  • Grooves in Orbit 1983
  • Tapdancin' Bats 1983
  • She Sings, They Play 1985, with Skeeter Davis
  • Christmas Wish 1985
  • Lou & the Q 1986, with Lou Albano
  • Uncommon Denominators 1986
  • God Bless Us All 1987
  • Through the Eyes of a Quartet 1987
  • Diggin' Uncle Q 1988
  • Truth or Consequences 1988
  • Wild Weekend 1989
  • Peek-A-Boo, The Best of NRBQ 1969-89 1990
  • Honest Dollar 1992
  • Stormalong 1992, with John Candy
  • Message for the Mess Age 1992
  • Tokyo 1996
  • Christmas Wish 1996
  • Tokyo 1997
  • You're Nice People, You Are 1997
  • You Gotta Be Loose 1997
  • NRBQ 1999
  • Ridin' in My Car 1999
  • Christmas Wish – Extended Edition 2000
  • Atsa My Band 2002
  • Music's Been Good to You 2007
  • Live from Mountain Stage 2002
  • Live at the Wax Museum 2003, with John Sebastian
  • Transmissions 2004
  • Froggy's Favorites 2006
  • Christmas Wish – Deluxe Edition 2007
  • Keep This Love Going 2011
  • We Travel the Spaceways 2012
With Terry Adams
  • Terrible 1995
  • Rhythm Spell 2007
  • Holy Tweet 2009
With Steve Ferguson
  • Mama U-Seapa 1995
With Terry Adams and Steve FergusonLouisville Sluggers 2006
With PJ O'Connell
  • Happy Go Lucky 2002
  • Careful 2006
With Johnny Johnson
  • Johnnie B. Bad 1991
With Hot Shots
  • Teen Street 2008
With Neanderthals
With Jim Stephanson
  • Say Go 2010
With Instant Cytron
  • Little Gang Of The Universe 2000
Solo:
  • Unknown Brain 2004
As Producer/Presenter
  • The Beat of the Traps: MSR Madness Vol 1 1992
  • The Makers of Smooth Music: MSR Madness Vol 2 2007
  • Off The Charts: The Song Poem Story Various artists

Video/Film/TV