Tom Rapp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tom Rapp
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Rapp in a 1998 concert
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Dale Rapp |
| Born | March 8, 1947 Bottineau, North Dakota, United States |
| Died | February 11, 2018 (aged 70) Melbourne, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, attorney |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, etc. |
| Years active | 1965–1976 occasionally 1997–2006 |
| Labels | ESP-Disk, Reprise, Blue Thumb, Woronzow, Drag City |
| Associated acts | Pearls Before Swine |
Thomas Dale Rapp (born March 8, 1947 – died February 11, 2018) was an American singer and songwriter. He was the leader of a band called Pearls Before Swine, which was a popular folk rock group in the late 1960s and early 1970s. People described his voice as gentle, and he had a unique way of seeing the world. Tom Rapp also released four music albums under his own name. After his music career, he became a lawyer, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984.
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Tom Rapp's Early Life
Tom Rapp was born in Bottineau, North Dakota. His parents, Dale and Eileen Rapp, were both teachers. He also had two sisters.
When Tom was a young child, his family moved to Minnesota. There, at age six, he received a guitar. A neighbor, who was a country and western musician, taught Tom some chords. He also learned to play the ukulele. Tom started writing his own songs. When he was eight, he came in third place in a talent show in Rochester. Interestingly, a boy named Bobby Zimmerman, who later became famous as Bob Dylan, came in fifth place at the same contest!
The Rapp family moved from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. Then, in 1963, they settled in Eau Gallie, Florida. Tom Rapp finished high school at Eau Gallie High School in 1965.
Music Career: 1965–1976
In Florida, Tom Rapp became a big fan of musicians like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, and Bessie Smith. In 1965, he started the band Pearls Before Swine with his high school friends Wayne Harley, Roger Crissinger, and Lane Lederer.
In 1966, they sent their demo recordings to ESP-Disk Records in New York. The record label agreed to record their first album, One Nation Underground. Most of the songs on the album were written by Tom Rapp. He sang and played lead guitar. Tom said, "We were just kids from Florida, and everything felt so cool." This first album sold about 200,000 copies.
After their second album, Balaklava, the original group members went their separate ways. This album was experimental and had anti-war themes. Many people consider it one of the group's best works.
By the time of the third Pearls Before Swine album, These Things Too, released in 1969, the other original band members had left. However, Tom Rapp kept the name Pearls Before Swine for his recordings. At this time, the band didn't perform live.
The next three albums, The Use of Ashes (1970), City of Gold (1971), and Beautiful Lies You Could Live In (1971), featured some of Rapp's best songs. He recorded these with his Dutch wife, Elisabeth, and talented studio musicians in Nashville and New York City.
Tom Rapp toured with famous artists like Buddy Guy, Gordon Lightfoot, Chuck Berry, and Bob Dylan. He even turned down the chance to perform at the famous Woodstock festival.
Tom Rapp's songs often shared "hard truths about the human condition." His lyrics could be direct and sometimes a bit cynical. But they also often showed a "playful and spiritual love for humanity." One of his songs, "Rocket Man," even inspired Bernie Taupin and Elton John's famous song of the same name.
His album Familiar Songs (1972) was listed as his first solo album. But it was actually a collection of demo recordings that the record company released without his knowledge. After moving to Blue Thumb Records, he released two more albums under his own name: Stardancer (1972) and Sunforest (1973). Even though these were called solo albums, they included recordings by a new version of Pearls Before Swine. This new group toured and performed a lot from 1970 onwards. They even opened for Pink Floyd once! These albums also had Tom's solo recordings with other musicians.
Between 1974 and 1976, Tom Rapp performed as a solo singer-songwriter. However, he didn't record any new music during this time. Tom Rapp later felt that the contracts he signed with his manager were a mistake. He believed they allowed his manager to control his relationships with record companies. He also felt his manager received all the money from his music. Tom said, "Any of the money he made... was gone." He estimated that he only earned about $200 from his music career. After a final show where he opened for Patti Smith, he stopped making music in 1976.
Later Life and Career
After leaving music, Tom Rapp worked as a receptionist and projectionist in theaters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York. He then decided to go back to school. He earned a degree in economics from Brandeis University in 1981. After that, he studied at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating in 1984. He then became a civil rights lawyer.
Tom Rapp saw his legal work as a continuation of his music, which often had political themes. He focused on legal areas that challenged unfair corporate actions. He later lived and worked in Philadelphia and Florida.
In 1997, after being interviewed by some magazines, Tom Rapp returned to music. He performed at a music festival called Terrastock in Providence, Rhode Island, with his son's band, Shy Camp. He recorded a new album called A Journal of the Plague Year, which came out in 1999. He also performed at Terrastock festivals in 2002 and 2006.
Personal Life
Tom Rapp was married three times. His first marriage was to Elisabeth Joosten, who sang on some of his recordings, from 1968 to 1976. His second wife was Susan Hein. From 1995, he was married to Lynn Madison. He had a son named David from his first marriage.
Death
Tom Rapp passed away at his home in Melbourne, Florida, in 2018. He had been battling cancer.
Discography
Solo Albums
- Familiar Songs (1972, Reprise)
- Stardancer (1972, Blue Thumb)
- Sunforest (1973, Blue Thumb)
- A Journal of the Plague Year (1999, Woronzow)
- Tom Rapp appeared on the 1999 Neil Young tribute album This Note's for You Too. He sang the song "After the Gold Rush".
- Tom Rapp also sang on the song "Shadows" for the band Old Fire. This song was on their album, 'Songs From the Haunted South', released in 2016.
