Tommy Page

Early life

Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to parents Fred and Miriam Page, he grew up in nearby West Caldwell. He graduated from James Caldwell High School with the class of 1985 at the age of 15.

Page took a leave of absence from New York University's Stern School of Business when his music career started to take off. He returned to finish his remaining two years and graduated in 1997.

Career

To help support himself during his freshman year at Stern (then 16), Page worked as a cloakroom attendant in a popular New York nightclub called Nell's, taking the coats of stars such as Whitney Houston, Rob Lowe, and the Beastie Boys. The job gave Page a chance to play his demo tape to the house DJ, who then used the demos as part of his club mixes. The unknown sounds were so impressive that soon Page was introduced to Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, who had previously launched the careers of Madonna and the Ramones.

When Page turned 18, he was asked to write the theme tune of the film Shag and released it as his first single. Page's self-titled debut album was released by Sire/Warner Bros. Records in November 1988 and contained hits such as "A Zillion Kisses," "Turning Me On," "I Think I'm in Love," and "A Shoulder to Cry On".

The follow-up album Paintings in My Mind (which he dedicated to his grandmother) gave Page a No. 1 single in the U.S., "I'll Be Your Everything," a song that was written with and features members of New Kids on the Block. Other singles from the album that were released after that were "When I Dream of You" and "Turn on the Radio" (another New Kids on the Block collaboration). The album also features "Don't Give Up on Love," a duet with Latin freestyle singer Sa-Fire. Sa-Fire and Page co-wrote the song, which was released as a single overseas.

Page's third album, released in 1991, was titled From the Heart, and his vocals there showcased a wider range with higher notes than previous efforts. On this album, the ballads were more orchestral. Tommy cited the songs in the album were inspired by the current music trend at the time of Wilson Phillips. The first single, "Whenever You Close Your Eyes," saw Page working with Michael Bolton and Diane Warren. "Under the Rainbow" and "Madly in Love" were also released as singles.

Page also appeared on an episode of Full House, titled "Crushed", which first aired on January 14, 1992. In the episode, he sings a special song to Stephanie Tanner on her tenth birthday, but spends the following day with her sister D.J., much to Stephanie's dismay.

As an appreciation to his fans in Asia, Page released another album, A Friend to Rely On, in 1992. It contains a duet with Sally Yeh titled "I'm Always Dreaming of You" as well as a cover of Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" and a song penned with Donna DeLory (best known as Madonna's backing singer) called "Heaven In Your Eyes." As house music was the current trend, the upbeat songs were produced in such form.

Before releasing his next album, Time, in 1994, Page replaced Donny Osmond for three months in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Page concentrated on releasing his following albums in Asia, especially after he signed with the Japanese label Pony Canyon Records.

In 1995, he released his first compilation album, Greatest Hits: Dedicated to You. That same year Page recorded a duet with Tiffany, "Close Our Eyes", for her album, All the Best.

His next studio album, Loving You, was released in 1996, containing a duet with Amy Mastura (from Malaysia), "The Best Part", as well as a cover of John Waite's 1984 hit "Missing You".

Ten 'Til Midnight, released in 2000, was only available for sale online.

In 2003 Page released a DVD collection of his music videos, which was sold through his website.

Page was one of the producers on Tennessee Girl's album Guilty Pleasures.

In 2011, after a successful stint as an executive at Warner Bros. Records, where he helped to shape the careers of Michael Bublé, Alanis Morissette, Josh Groban, and Green Day, among others, he joined Billboard as publisher. He held that role for two years and was responsible for the successful relaunch of the brand.

As a publisher he created new features such as the Industry Icon Award as well as the infamous Power 100 List. In April 2013, Page joined Pandora Internet Media as Head of Music Partnerships. He led the Artist Partnerships, Branded Content and Events Team.

In 2015, Page released a single titled "I Break Down 2015", a slower version of his 1990 song of the same name. In June 2016, Page released an 18-track CD of his greatest ballads titled My Favorites, which included the 2015 single, "I Break Down 2015" (with vocals and instrumental version). The CD was only available for sale on his website.

La Casa

In 1993, Page and Latin freestyle singer Sa-Fire teamed up to create a house-music group called La Casa, also featuring Allan Edwards Tibbett and Dacia Palmer. Page and Sa-Fire wrote and produced three songs, "Show Me the Way", "Get to You" and "Dance to My Music" for the group. The songs appeared on New Faces, a house-music compilation on Sire/Warner Bros. Records.

Personal life and death

Page had three children (Owen, Alden and Ruby) with his husband Charlie.

He died on March 4, 2017 of an apparent suicide.

Studio albums

Extended play

Music videos

Video albums