Radio and production enthusiasts are mourning the loss of Tom Merriman, the creator of the first ever radio jingle and the TM in TM Studios.
Tom, whose musical creations have been heard on stations around the world including Capital Radio, Downtown Radio and Northsound in the UK, died on Wednesday after a short illness.
From the first ever radio jingle for KLIF in Dallas through to more recent packages, Tom’s ability to write and arrange music and vocals made him stand out amongst his peers. His incredibly complicated musical scores always made sense once presented to musicians, with incredible orchestral results. One colleague described his writing style as “like Lincoln did the Gettysburg Address… on the back of an envelope… and they are equally historic”.
TM Studios’ Creative Director, Chris Stevens, who moved to Dallas in 2005, said “I was lucky enough to watch Tom at work within a few weeks of my arrival, and it was an incredible experience. While the rest of us think in words, he thought in musical staves, chords and harmonies. While Tom may no longer be with us in person, his music will live on forever.”
There are memories of Tom and his work on [link=http://jinglemad.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?76595]JingleMad.com[/link] and a full tribute on the TM Studios [link=http://www.tmstudios.com/merriman.asp?esource=RT]website [/link] and on the [link=http://www.tommerrimantribute.com/site/]Tom Merriman Tribute Site[/link].
His funeral is today, in Dallas, Texas.
