Teddy Thompson's Musical Legacy
November 16 -- Teddy Thompson says one of the first questions publicists at Virgin Records, his label, put to him was if he minded people asking about his parents. He is, after all, the progeny of Richard and Linda Thompson, the British duo that created quite a bit of highly regarded music — including their celebrated swan song, Shoot Out the Lights — before divorcing in 1982.
"It's beginning to bother me," acknowledges Thompson, 24, who recently released his self-titled debut album. "If somebody asks you the same question every day, whether it's that or 'What's your favorite color?' or 'Tell us about your sexuality' or something like that, the same question gets very tedious after awhile."
Make no mistake — Thompson is proud of where he comes from. He lived with his mother as a teenager and moved to Los Angeles to be with his father when he was 18. But while his entry into the "family business" was probably inevitable — though he says he wanted to be a fireman as a child — Thompson says he certainly has a distinct creative voice that has elements of both parents but sounds like neither.
He's also not a guitar ace like his father. "I would say I'm a very good rhythm-guitar player," says Thompson, who worked on his album with producer Joe Henry and wrote some songs with Rufus Wainwright. "I'm not really a lead-guitar player. I always write on guitar, and I think I'm getting better. It's fun for me to be touring; I find that I'm playing a lot more."
And, Thompson points out, when he was looking for solos on some of the songs for Teddy Thompson, he knew he didn't have to look far for someone to play them. "He's my favorite guitar player," Thompson says of his father. "It would have been perverse of me to go around looking for somebody else that wasn't related to me who would be second best, in my mind. I've never been uncomfortable playing with him; he's an amazing musician."
So did he get a discount from dad's usual session rate? "I don't deal with the money side," the younger Thompson demurs. "He probably charged me extra."
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