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Thomas "T.M." Stevens died in his sleep at around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 10, musician and performance artist Carrie Beehan said in a Facebook post. Beehan had posted in late February that Stevens was hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs.
Stevens played bass and sang backup vocals on James Brown's 1986 album "Gravity", according to credits from music database website Discogs. The album includes Brown's hit single "Living In America", which was also featured in the movie "Rocky IV" as Apollo Creed's boxing entrance song.
The "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" Tina Turner had Stevens bring his funky basslines onto her 1989 album "Foreign Affair". Billy Joel also enlisted Stevens as a bassist on the singer's 1993 album "River of Dreams".
Stevens performed with many other prominent musical acts like Billy Squier, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, and the Pretenders.
"We lost another important piece of the low end theory," former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist William "Bootsy" Collins posted on Instagram. "We toured together in 2011. U will be missed my funk brother.🙏"
"His explosive energy and delightful personality filled a room with excitement and some of the most bada** bass grooves under the sun," said Godfrey Townsend, lead guitarist for The Yardbirds, in a Facebook post.
"RIP T.M. Stevens," E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt posted on Twitter. "We were awesome. Gonna miss you brother."
Stevens showed his range as an actor in the 2000 movie "Limousine Drive". He also wrote the film's soundtrack.
Stevens also released six solo albums in the 90s and 2000s.
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