Musician. Best remembered as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the influential rock band, Television. Born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey to a Jewish family, his family moved to Wilmington, Delaware when he was six years old, spending his youth in Wilmington. He began taking piano lessons at a young age but took up the saxophone upon hearing a Stan Getz album. Saxophonists who inlfuenced him were Albert Ayler and John Coltrane. He was initially uninterested in the guitar and rock n' roll but hearing The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown" (1966) single as a teenager changed his mindset. In his youth, he had a love for poetry and writing that would set him on the creative path. At Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, he befriended bassist Richard Meyers (Richard Hell) and both realized their mutual passion for poems-writing. Miller and Meyers left school, relocated to New York City, New York and began writing music together. Meyers took the stage name of Richard Hell and Miller took the stage name of Tom Verlaine in reference to the French poet, Paul Verlaine. In 1972, they formed "The Neon Boys" with drummer Billy Ficca. Despite auditions from Dee Dee Ramone (Ramones) and Chris Stein (Blondie), the Neon Boys disbanded upon failing to recruit a second guitarist. After The Neon Boys disbanded in 1973, they formed the band, "Television" with Ficca and guitarist Richard Lloyd. Verlaine incorporated elements of jazz into his guitar playing with some inspiration from Miles Davis' live albums, "Agharta" (1975) and "Dark Magus" (1977). Due to inner-band conflicts, Hell was fired from Television and was replaced by Fred Smith on bass in 1975 (Hell would subsequently join Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers and form Richard Hell & the Voidoids). After building a local fan following in the New York City punk-art rock scene, Television signed with Elektra Records and released their debut album, "Marquee Moon" in 1977. The album was critically acclaimed by music journalists of the time and is considered to be one of the most influential albums in the history of rock, appearing on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list. They followed up Marquee Moon with their second album, "Adventure" (1978). Televison temporarily disbanded the same year the Adventure LP was released. They reformed in 1991 and released their self-titled third album, "Television" (1992). They disbanded again in 1993 but reunited full-time in 2001, continuing to play concerts over the next two decades. Bands and artists influenced by Television include: Sonic Youth, Pavement, R.E.M. and The Strokes among others. Outside of Television, he collaborated with numerous artists like: James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Patti Smith, Nels Cline (Wilco), Lee Ranaldo/Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and many more. Verlaine was in talks to produce Jeff Buckley's second solo album but Buckley accidentally drowned in Memphis, Tennessee in 1997. Verlaine died at his home in New York City. He was 73.