Tony Bellamy
Anthony Bellamy or Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy (September 12, 1946 - December 25, 2009), was born Robert Anthony Avila [1][2][3] to parents James and Olga Avila.[4] He was a Yaqui Mexican American[2] who became the lead guitarist, pianist and vocalist for the Native American rock band Redbone in 1968.[5]
He grew up in a family of dancers and musicians and learned to play the flamenco guitar as part of his musical education. Before joining Redbone, Bellamy had performed with Dobie Gray, and was a member of Peter and the Wolves (a band from San Francisco that evolved into the psychedelic band Moby Grape).[6][7]
Bellamy left Redbone in 1977.[6][7][8] In the early 1980s, he and his Filipino-Chicano cousin, Butch Rillera formed the R&B band "Bimbam".[8]
In 1998, Bellamy appeared with Pat Vegas in a Redbone special guest performance at the inaugural Native American Music Awards. On October 4, 2008 they appeared at the 10th Annual Native American Music Awards and were inducted into the Native American Music Association Hall of Fame.[9]
He died on December 25, 2009, at the age of 63, in a Las Vegas hospital as the result of liver failure,[4] Some sources reported that he was born in 1940 and was 69 years of age, but this is incorrect; his family confirmed that he originally used a birth year of 1940 so that he could legally play in the clubs.[3]
References
- ↑ Redbone on Orexis of Death
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Redbone: Cajun Funk with a Touch of Latin Soul, by Mark Guerrero
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Native American Music Awards - "In Their Honor"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Claire Voyant's Column - Las Vegas
- ↑ Redbone, unofficial website
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Redbone on Encyclopedia.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Redbone Biography on "Musician Guide", by Bruce Walker
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 History of Redbone (unofficial site)
- ↑ Native American Music Awards - NAMA10
External links
- Redbone on Encyclopedia.com
- Orexis on Redbone
- Redbone at "Musician Guide"
- Redbone's Tony Bellamy passes at age 63, news page of Native American Music Awards (NAMA)
- Redbone - Still rockin' the rez (archived link)
- Tony Bellamy at Find a Grave
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