Teddy Thompson

The only son of British folk-rock legends Richard & Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson was born in 1976, during his parents' time living in a Muslim community outside of London. He made his musical debut in 1996, when he turned up on his father's you? me? us? album as a backup vocalist. Teddy eventually opened for Richard on a number of solo dates following the record's release, as well as adding guitar and supporting vocals on 1999's Mock Tudor. A mail-order-only live disc of Richard's 1998 acoustic shows featured Teddy's contributions on a handful of tunes, including Richard & Linda's classic "A Heart Needs a Home," the Left Banke's "She May Call You Up Tonight," and a wonderful version of "Persuasion," co-written by Richard and Tim Finn.

In the summer of 2000, Teddy kicked off his solo career by releasing his self-titled debut for Virgin Records. The album was a collection of self-penned folk-pop tunes produced by singer/songwriter Joe Henry and featuring Richard's guitar on several tracks. Separate Ways arrived on the Verve Forecast label in February 2006, followed by 2007's country covers album Upfront & Down Low. Piece of What You Need, a slightly more upbeat set of Thompson originals, appeared in 2008 and debuted at number ten on the U.K. charts. Thompson decamped to New York City to record his fifth studio effort, Bella, which was released halfway through his U.K. winter tour in February 2011. ~ Brett Hartenbach, Rovi