06/07/17 Michael Thompson – Studio Guitarist with Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion

Making It! with Terry Wollman

Michael Thompson has recorded with artists including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, 'N Sync, Toni Braxton, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Joe Sample, the Scorpions, Vince Neil, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, Bette Midler, Madonna, Babyface, En Vogue, Gloria Estefan, Stanley Clarke, and Ricky Martin.
Michael was born on February 11, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York & raised on Long Island. He started playing guitar at age 9, and after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, was inspired to be a musician. At age 19, he left New York for Boston to attend The Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, M.T. met many of the musicians that he would later work with in the Los Angeles music scene. After going to Berklee for two years, Michael got a gig with local R&B artist “Ellis Hall”. He toured and recorded with this group for four years.
In 1977, Michael met his wife Gloria, and in 1979 they moved to Los Angeles to begin his studio career. Upon arrival Michael got a gig touring with Joe Cocker. During that first year money was tight and Michael had to drive a cab to survive financially. After his cab gig, he landed a year-long world tour with Cher.
When he returned home Michael began honing his craft playing on songwriter publishing demos and any sessions that were offered. Those sessions lead to working on the popular T.V. show Fame, which he played on for four years, which lead to playing on Miami Vice for its last season.
In 1989, Michael got his first opportunity to work with mega producer David Foster which led to him playing on multiple hit productions over the next fifteen years.