TOM’S ALBUM
“Tom’s Diner” is a song written in 1981 by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It appeared as the first track of her Solitude Standing album in 1987. It was later used as the basis for a remix by the British group DNA in 1990. The 1991 release Tom’s Album includes the DNA version as well as cover versions by such artists as After One, Chicago-based band Canasta, and Bingo Hand Job (R.E.M. and Billy Bragg). (More from Wikipedia)
Suzanne Vega was basically an acoustic artist when she started out, and she scored a major hit in 1987 with “Luka” from her second album Solitude Standing. In 1990, an anonymous duo called DNA released a bootleg single based on an a capella track from that album called “Tom’s Diner” that was set to an electronic beat; originally released under the name “Oh Suzanne”, they had an unexpected hit song a full 3 years after her album came out (and nearly 10 years after Vega originally wrote the song). Suzanne Vega allowed the single to be issued legitimately and subsequently released several albums of her own with an edgier sound, as well as Tom’s Album that included several other unsolicited versions of this same song.
(March 2012)
