Tommy Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tommy Lee
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Lee in 2012
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Thomas Lee Bass
October 3, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Years active | 1979–present |
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| Children | 2 |
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Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer and a co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He also started the rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has worked on his own music projects.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Tommy Lee was born Thomas Lee Bass in Athens, Greece, on October 3, 1962. His father was an American soldier, and his mother was a Greek beauty contest participant. He has a younger sister, Athena Lee, who is also a drummer. When Tommy was about two years old, his family moved to California in the United States.
Tommy got his first drum sticks when he was four years old. He received his first full drum kit as a teenager. He left high school to focus on his music career. He started playing in a band called Suite 19 in Los Angeles clubs. As a teenager, he enjoyed listening to bands like Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Kiss. Some of his biggest drumming inspirations include John Bonham and Alex Van Halen.
Music Career Highlights
In the late 1970s, Tommy Lee's band, Suite 19, often played at clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. This was a popular spot for new bands. He met bassist Nikki Sixx, whose bands also played in the same area. Nikki Sixx was forming a new band and was impressed by Tommy Lee's drumming. Around this time, Tommy started using "Tommy Lee" instead of his full last name. He also got the nickname "T-bone" because he was tall and thin.
In 1981, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx decided to form a new group. Soon after, guitarist Mick Mars joined them. Tommy Lee then suggested a singer he knew from high school, Vince Neil. Vince joined, and the band Mötley Crüe was formed.
Mötley Crüe's Rise to Fame
Mötley Crüe quickly gained many fans. They released their first album, Too Fast for Love, in 1981 on their own record label. Soon after, Elektra Records signed the band and re-released their first album. The band then released several hit albums throughout the 1980s, including Shout at the Devil (1983) and Dr. Feelgood (1989). These albums made Mötley Crüe one of the biggest hard rock and metal bands of the decade.
Tommy Lee was known for his exciting drum solos during concerts. He would often have his entire drum kit spin around or even float above the audience while he continued to play.
In 2004, Tommy Lee and the original Mötley Crüe members got back together. They released a collection of their songs called Red, White & Crüe. This led to a huge reunion tour in 2005, which was the band's first tour in six years. The tour was very successful, making Mötley Crüe one of the top concert earners that year.
Tommy Lee's Solo Work
Tommy Lee returned to Mötley Crüe for a tour in 1999. Around the same time, he started a new band called Methods of Mayhem. This band played rap metal music and released an album that same year. Even though he had other projects, Tommy Lee helped write The Dirt, a book about Mötley Crüe, in 2001.
Tommy Lee has also played drums for other artists, including Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie. He released his first solo album, Never a Dull Moment, in 2002. This album mixed rap metal with electronic music. In 2006, he formed another band called Rock Star Supernova with Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke.
In 2005, Tommy Lee released his autobiography, Tommyland, along with his second solo album, Tommyland: The Ride. This album included songs like "Good Times", which was the theme song for his TV show Tommy Lee Goes to College.
In 2007, there were reports that Tommy Lee had left Mötley Crüe, but he soon rejoined the band. He recorded their new album, Saints of Los Angeles, and toured with them in 2008.
More recently, Tommy Lee has also toured as an electronic dance music DJ with his partner, DJ Aero. They are known as Electro Mayhem and have played many club dates. He has also performed with other famous DJs and musicians.
In 2014, Tommy Lee played drums on the Smashing Pumpkins' album Monuments to an Elegy. That same year, he rejoined Mötley Crüe for their farewell tour. The band members signed an agreement that they would not tour under the Mötley Crüe name again unless all original members were involved.
In 2022, Tommy Lee spoke with Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins just hours before Taylor's death. Tommy Lee later performed at a tribute concert for Taylor Hawkins.
Film and Television Appearances
In 2004, Tommy Lee starred in a reality TV show on NBC called Tommy Lee Goes to College. He was also one of the show's producers. In 2008, he filmed another reality TV show with rapper Ludacris called Battleground Earth, which focused on eco-friendly topics. In 2019, he appeared as Professor Lee in an episode of The Goldbergs.
In October 2020, Tommy Lee played the Devil in a musical horror podcast series called Halloween in Hell. In 2022, he appeared as a club DJ in the action horror movie The Retaliators.
Personal Life
Tommy Lee has been married four times. His first marriage was to Elaine Starchuk in 1984. In 1986, he married actress Heather Locklear, and they divorced in 1993. Their relationship was shown in the Mötley Crüe movie The Dirt in 2019.
In 1995, Tommy Lee married actress Pamela Anderson just four days after they met. They have two sons together: Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee. They divorced in 1998. They briefly reunited later but separated again in 2001.
From 2002 to 2003, he was engaged to dancer Mayte Garcia. In 2008, he and Pamela Anderson were living together again for a short time before splitting up for good. From 2014 to 2017, he was engaged to singer Sofia Toufa.
On February 14, 2018, Tommy Lee announced he was engaged to social media celebrity Brittany Furlan. They got married exactly one year later, on February 14, 2019.
Activism and Animal Rights
Tommy Lee is a strong supporter of animal rights and works with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In 2010, he wrote a letter to the president of SeaWorld. He protested the treatment of Tilikum the orca and believed the animal should be set free. Tommy Lee wanted to prevent more tragedies involving trainers, which he felt happened because whales were unhappy in captivity.
In 2013, Tommy Lee sent a letter to the Premier of Alberta, Canada. He asked her to stop the Calgary Stampede's chuckwagon races. These races had caused the deaths of many horses over the years. Tommy Lee wrote that cowboys used to respect their horses more. The government responded that his letter was important.
Discography
Solo albums
- Never a Dull Moment (2002)
- Tommyland: The Ride (2005)
- Andro (2020)
With Mötley Crüe
With Methods of Mayhem
- Methods of Mayhem (1999)
- A Public Disservice Announcement (2010)
With Rock Star Supernova
- Rock Star Supernova (2006)
Selected Guest Appearances
- Rush Street – Richard Marx (1991)
- The Urge – Stuart Hamm (1991)
- Hellbilly Deluxe – Rob Zombie (1998)
- The Sinister Urge – Rob Zombie (2001)
- Everything in Transit – Jack's Mannequin (2005)
- The Lady Killer - CeeLo Green (2010)
- Angels & Devils – Fuel (2007)
- Pounds of Blood - Figure (2013)
- Minds Eye - Foreign Beggars (2012)
- Raw (Single) – The Bloody Beetroots (2014)
- You Know My Name/Wedding Day – Courtney Love (2014)
- Monuments to an Elegy - The Smashing Pumpkins (drums on all tracks) (2014)
- Beerbongs & Bentleys - Post Malone (drums on "Over Now") (2018)
Images for kids
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Mötley Crüe from left to right: Nikki Sixx, Lee, Mick Mars, and Vince Neil
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Lee in 2004
See also
In Spanish: Tommy Lee para niños
