# Tom Canning

Tom Canning (born January 24, 1948) is an American keyboardist, writer, producer, and arranger.
He is perhaps best known for his long-time collaborations with the renowned Jazz/R&B singer Al Jarreau. He has also performed and/or recorded with a wide variety of artists including Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Wayne Shorter, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, T-Bone Burnett, Freddie King, Johnny Shines, Rickie Lee Jones, Elvis Costello, Albert Lee, Playing for Change, Carlene Carter, Johnny Paycheck, Ray Lynch and Johnny Hallyday. Canning has been a part of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for over a decade, appearing on most of Mayall's releases from 1993's Wake Up Call up to 2009's Tough.

## Early life

Tom Canning was born and raised in Rochester, New York. His father, Thomas Canning, was a professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Eastman School of Music, and his mother was a professional church vocalist. After studying at Berklee School of Music in Boston and North Texas State University, Canning eventually settled in Los Angeles. Soon after arriving in L.A., he began performing and recording with artists such as Delbert McClinton, John Klemmer and T-Bone Burnett.

## Career
### Al Jarreau

In 1974, Canning met the then-unsigned Al Jarreau. They began working together as a duo at The Bla-Bla Cafe, a nightclub in Studio City, CA. Shortly thereafter, Jarreau signed an extended contract with Warner Bros. Records. Canning then worked as Jarreau's Musical Director and eventually his co-writer and co-producer. International touring and recording led to seven albums, multi-platinum sales and numerous Grammy awards. Some of Jarreau's more well-known songs that Canning co-wrote are “Thinkin’ About It Too”, “Never Givin’ Up”, ”Roof Garden”, “Breakin’ Away”, “Step By Step”, “Black and Blues” and “Lost and Found”.

### T-Bone Burnett

In 1972 Canning began recording with T-Bone Burnett on The B-52 Band & the Fabulous Skylarks. He subsequently played on several of Burnett's solo albums, including those with The Alpha Band. Canning later composed or played on several films for which Burnett produced the music, including Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, the Oscar winners Walk the Line and Crazy Heart, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

### Thicke of the Night

In 1983, Canning was the original musical director for the television variety/talk show Thicke of the Night. The show's house band included Alan Pasqua, Kevin Dukes, Dennis Belfield, Mike Baird and Gary Herbig. Richard Belzer, Gilbert Gottfried, Arsenio Hall, and Charles Fleischer were among the cast of writers and performers.

### Johnny Hallyday

In 1998, Canning began performing with French singer Johnny Hallyday. From 1998 through 2003, Canning toured with Hallyday through France and Canada, released three live CD/DVDs (Stade de France 98: Johnny allume le feu, 100% Johnny: Live à la tour Eiffel, and Un soir à l Olympia). Band members included Brian Ray, Abe Laboriel Jr., Curt Bisquera, Reggie Hamilton, and Harry Kim. Canning later returned to France in 2007 with singer Eddy Mitchell, touring and recording the CD Jambalaya, and the live CD/DVD Jambalaya Live. The band included guitarist Todd Sharp, and Davey Faragher and Pete Thomas.

### John Mayall

Tom toured and recorded with British blues artist John Mayall, appearing on a total of 10 albums, including the John Mayall 70th Birthday Concert CD/DVD, featuring Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.

### Film and television

Canning has composed and performed for a variety of shows including Melrose Place (Fox), The Larry Sanders Show (HBO), Memphis Beat (TNT), Cinema Verite (HBO), Magic City (STARZ) and Psych (USA).
His composition, “The Oh of Pleasure”, co-written with New Age artist Ray Lynch, has been licensed many times for a wide variety of film, television and commercial outlets.

## Works
### Discography

| Artist | Album | Year | Label |
| Al Jarreau | We Got By | 1975 | Warner Bros./Reprise |
| Al Jarreau | Glow | 1976 | Warner Bros./Reprise |
| Al Jarreau | Look to the Rainbow | 1977 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | All Fly Home | 1978 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | This Time | 1980 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | Breakin' Away | 1981 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record | 1981 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | Jarreau | 1983 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | Live in London | 1985 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | Best of | 1996 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | All I Got | 2002 | GRP |
| Al Jarreau | Love Songs | 2008 | Rhino |
| Al Jarreau | Very Best of | 2009 | Rhino |
| Al Jarreau | Original Album Series | 2011 | Warner Bros. |
| Al Jarreau | Al Jarreau - Live: Bremen 1976 | 2017 | Hi Hat |
| Al Jarreau | Al Jarreau: Works | 2021 | WEA/Japan |
| John Mayall | Wake Up Call | 1993 | Silvertone |
| John Mayall | Along For The Ride | 2001 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | Stories | 2002 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | No Days Off | 2003 | Private Stash |
| John Mayall | Cookin’ Down Under: Live In Australia† | 2003 | Private Stash DVD |
| John Mayall | 70th Birthday Concert: w. Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor | 2003 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | Road Dogs | 2005 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | Essentially John Mayall | 2006 | Eagle Rock |
| John Mayall | In The Palace Of The King | 2007 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | Tough | 2009 | Eagle |
| John Mayall | Silvertones: The Best Of John Mayall | 2011 | Silvertone |
| John Mayall | Rock Live! | 2019 | Universal |
| T-Bone Burnett | J. Henry Burnett: The B-52 Band & The Fabulous Skylarks | 1972 | Uni |
| T-Bone Burnett | The Alpha Band* | 1976 | Arista |
| T-Bone Burnett | Spark In the Dark (Alpha Band)* | 1977 | Arista |
| T-Bone Burnett | Truth Decay* | 1980 | Takoma |
| T-Bone Burnett | The Talking Animals | 1988 | Columbia |
| T-Bone Burnett | Twenty-Twenty: The Essential T-Bone Burnett | 2006 | Sony |
| Johnny Hallyday | Stade de France: Allume le Feu | 1998 | Universal/Mercury |
| Johnny Hallyday | 100% Johnny: Live a la Tour Eiffel | 2000 | Universal/Mercury |
| Johnny Hallyday | L’Olympia | 2000 | Universal/Mercury |
| Johnny Hallyday | Live at Bercy: 2003 | 2020 | Universal/Mercury |
| Johnny Hallyday | Performer | 2022 | Universal/Mercury |
| Johnny Hallyday | Pionnier | 2022 | Universal/Mercury |
| John Klemmer | Intensity | 1972 | ABC/Impulse! |
| John Klemmer | Fresh Feathers | 1974 | ABC |
| John Klemmer | Magic and Movement | 1974 | ABC/Impulse! |
| John Klemmer | Impulsively! | 1977 | Impulse! |
| Ray Lynch | Deep Breakfast | 1984 | R.L. Productions/Music West/Windham Hill |
| Ray Lynch | No Blue Thing | 1989 | R.L. Productions/Music West/Windham Hill |
| Ray Lynch | Best Of Ray Lynch-Vol. 1 | 1998 | Windham Hill |
| Freddie King | Larger Than Life* | 1975 | RSO |
| Freddie King | Texas Flyer | 2010 | Bear Family |
| Buddy Guy | Feels Like Rain | 1993 | Silvertone/Sony |
| Elvis Costello | King of America | 1986 | Columbia |
| Elvis Costello | Girls!Girls!Girls! | 1989 | Sony/Demon |
| Delbert McClinton | Delbert and Glen | 1972 | Clean |
| Delbert McClinton | Truckers, Kickers and Cowboy Angels | 1973 | Bear Family |
| Delbert McClinton | Post Modern Blues Vol. 9 | 1993 | Rhino |
| Delbert McClinton | The Delbert and Glen Sessions | 2004 | Raven |
| Delbert McClinton | Definitive Collection | 2006 | Hip-O |
| Playing For Change | Peace Through Music Tour/Live In Australia | 2014 | Timeless Media |
| Betty Buckley | Ghostlight | 2009 | Practical Magic |
| Betty Buckley | Bootleg: Board Mixes From The Road | 2010 | Practical Magic |
| Eddy Mitchell | Jambalaya | 2007 | Polydor |
| Eddy Mitchell | Jambalaya : Live on Tour | 2008 | Polydor France |
| Eddy Mitchell | L’Album de sa vie: 50 titres | 2023 | Universal |
| Diane Dufresne | Striptease | 1979 | Barclay |
| Diane Dufresne | Turbulences | 1982 | Gsi Musique |
| Diane Dufresne | Best Of/20th Century Masters | 2006 | Universal |
| Jim Carroll | Dry Dreams | 1982 | Atco |
| Jim Carroll | A World Without Gravity/Best Of | 1993 | Rhino |
| Robert Downey Jr | The Futurist | 2004 | Sony |
| Stephen Bruton | What It Is | 1993 | Dos |
| Stephen Bruton | Right On Time | 1995 | Dos |
| Stephen Bruton | From The Five | 2006 | New West |
| Scott Cossu | She Describes Infinity | 1987 | Windham Hill |
| Scott Cossu | Windham Hill Sampler Vol. 5 | 1988 | Windham Hill |
| Scott Cossu | Retrospective | 1992 | Windham Hill |
| Scott Cossu | When Spirits Fly | 1998 | Miramax/Alula |
| Scott Cossu | When Spirits Fly…Again | 2004 | Alula |
| DeBarge | Rhythm of the Night | 1985 | Gordy |
| DeBarge | Time Will Reveal: Complete Motown Albums | 2011 | Hip-O |
| Leni Stern | Love Comes Quietly | 2006 | LSR |
| Take 6 | Iconic | 2018 | Sono/Universal Music |
| Rita Coolidge | Safe In The Arms Of Time | 2018 | Blue Elan |
| Billy Vera | Timeless | 2019 | Vera-Cruz Music Co. |
| Alejandro Escovedo | 13 Years | 1993 | Watermelon |
| Alejandro Escovedo | The End/Losing Your Touch (Maxi) | 1994 | Watermelon |
| Alejandro Escovedo | With These Hands | 1996 | Rykodisc |
| Amy Rigby | Middlescence | 1996 | Koch |
| Amy Rigby | 18 Again: Anthology | 2002 | Koch |
| Exile/Atsushi (featuring Boyz II Men) | Premium Live: SOLO | 2010 | Rhythm Zone—Japan |
| Yvonne Elliman | Yvonne | 1979 | RSO |
| Yvonne Elliman | Best Of | 1997 | Polygram Motown/Universal |
| Richie Lecea | Face To Face | 1978 | United Artists |
| Tex Beaumont | Hurricane of Love | 1996 | Nicotine Fit |
| Storyville | Bluest Eyes | 1994 | November Records |
| Jerry Riopelle | Hush Money | 1994 | Mesa/Blue Moon |
| Star Academy 5 | Les Meilleurs Moments | 2007 | Endemol |
| Markus Becker | Kiev-Chicago: Pictures At An Exhibition & Jazz Improvisations | 2014 | Dreyer/Gaido |
| Daniel Moore | The Giveaway | 2007 | DJM |
| Daniel Moore | Limited Parking | 2008 | DJM |
| Scott Ellison | Steamin’ | 2000 | JSE |
| Scott Ellison | Ice Storm | 2008 | Earwig |
| Lenny Goldsmith | Lenny Goldsmith & The New Old | 2021 |
†Released as DVD
*As “K.O. Thomas”

### Filmography

| Year | Title | Studio |
| 1983 | Hells Angels Forever | Baytide/Wescom Productions |
| 1986 | Whoopee Boys | Paramount |
| 1987 | Bates Motel | Universal Television |
| 1988 | Cocktail | Disney |
| 1987 - 1988 | Rags To Riches | New World TV |
| 1989 | Shag | Hemdale Film Corp. |
| 1989 | Great Balls Of Fire | MGM/UA |
| 1990 | Modern Love | Triumph Films |
| 1991 | Bebe's Kids | Paramount |
| 1992 | Melrose Place | World Vision Enterprises |
| 1994 | Wes Craven's New Nightmare | New Line Cinema |
| 1994 | Highlander III: The Sorcerer | Miramax |
| 1994 | In Search of Angels | TCM |
| 1995 | A Street Car Named Desire | CBS |
| 1997 | Traveller | October Films |
| 1997 | The Larry Sanders Show | HBO |
| 1999 | The Woman Chaser | Definitive/Tarmac Films |
| 2001 | Malcolm In The Middle | Fox |
| 2002 | Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | Warner Brothers |
| 2003 | Fighting Temptations | Paramount/MTV |
| 2005 | Walk The Line | 20th Century Fox |
| 2006 | All The King's Men | SPE Sony/Columbia |
| 2009 | Crazy Heart | Fox Searchlight |
| 2009 | Gentlemen Broncos | Fox Searchlight |
| 2011 | Cinema Vérité | HBO |
| 2011 | Memphis Beat | Warner Horizon TV |
| 2012 - 2013 | Magic City | Starz |
| 2013 | Psych | USA |
| 2018 | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Netflix |
| 2019–Present | One Day at Disney | Fox Searchlight |
| 2019 | Rick and Morty | Adult Swim |