Guitar prodigious Tom Verlaine dies at 73

Guitarist Tom Verlaine.

Tom Verlaine, leader of the band Television, which emerged from New York's

punk rock in the late 1970s with the album

, died Saturday in New York at the age of 73, his family said.

The American singer and guitarist died "after a brief illness," Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Verlaine and singer Patti Smith, told

, although without specifying the cause of death.

“This is a time when anything seems possible,” Patti Smith wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday, under an old photo of her with Verlaine.

Patti Smith had once said that Tom Verlaine sounded "like a thousand howling tiles."

Born Thomas Miller, Verlaine adopted his last name from the French Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine, whose lyricism he tried to infuse into his compositions, while playing the guitar with an ethereal and aggressive style.

Among his musical references, he always showed a predilection for the

of John Coltrane or Eric Dolphy.

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The new issue of Tom Verlaine

Verlaine, born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1949, went to high school with another punk icon, Richard Hell, and together they founded Television in 1973 with guitarist Richard Lloyd.

Their debut album,

, is considered "one of the best of the punk era," according to

magazine .

At nearly 10 minutes long, the album's self-titled single illustrated the richness of a musical movement that inspired many groups, from the Ramones to the Talking Heads to Blondie.

They all went to the same punk rock mecca, CBGB, a club on New York's Lower East Side where the best hours of that musical genre in the city were experienced.

Although

received critical acclaim from the likes of

,

and

, Television was a short-lived success.

After two albums, the band dissolved and Verlaine released a dozen solo albums from the 1980s, while collaborating with numerous artists such as Smith and David Bowie.

Tributes from fellow artists have rained on social networks remembering Verlaine.

“Went past the book stalls outside the Strand yesterday thinking I'd see you as usual, have a cigar and talk about rare poetic finds for a couple of hours,” Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore tweeted.

“I will miss you, Tom.

Rest in peace".

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea has posted that he listened to

1,000 times and "will listen to it 1,000 more."

"Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever," he tweeted.

listened to Marquee Moon 1000 times.

And I mean LISTENED, sitting still, lights down low taking it all in.

awe and wonder every time.

Will listen 1000 more.

Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever.

He effected the way John and I play immeasurably.

Fly on Tom.

— Flea (@flea333) January 29, 2023

“His role in our culture and his genius on the electric guitar were legendary,” wrote Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite.

“Name 10 minutes of music as good as

.

It can not.

It is perfect".