Tommy Lee Biography

Tommy Lee Biography

Claim to Fame: Drummer (Motley Crue)
DOB: October 3, 1962
Diabetes Type: 2

Tommy Lee was born in Athens, Greece on October 3, 1962. He was the older of two children and grew up in California. His interest in the drums sparked at the early age of four and continued on throughout his life. He joined his high school marching band before dropping out of school all together his senior year to further pursue his musical interests.

Lee met future band mate, Nikki Sixx, while playing in his first successful band, Suite 19, during the late 70’s. After seeing Lee’s talent for the drums, Sixx immediately took interest. It wasn’t long at all before the two were playing together and things began to fall into place. Soon Mick Mars joined up with the two musicians and recommended Vince Neil as a singer, and therein were the makings of Motley Crue.

Motley Crue’s 1981 debut album Too Fast for Love was a mega hit that quickly built up the band’s fan base. This album was simply the start to a string of hits that Motley Crue would release throughout the decade; Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Dr. Feelgood and Girls, Girls, Girls.

Motley Crue was not only known for its popular hard rock/metal music, but also for their crazy on stage antics. Tommy Lee especially loved to moon the crowds. During the band’s shows he would play on a spinning drum set, and even sometimes hoist it and himself above the crowd to play. These performances called for a huge following of fans and a particularly crazy on-the-road lifestyle for the band members. It was often reported that they participated in heavy partying and the excessive use of hard drugs and alcohol such as cocaine, heroin, and prescription pills.

Not only did Lee experience great success with Motley Crue, but he also conquered the solo world of entertainment and music as well. He formed a second successful band called Methods of Mayhem to take part in the rap/metal genre that was seeing growing popularity. He made guest appearances on the albums of Stuart Hamm, Nine Inch Nails, and Rob Zombie, and also recorded with Incubus for a period of time. He released a solo album in 2002 titled, Never a Dull Moment and then went on to play in Ozzfest. Lee is also an author, with his 2004 release of the autobiography Tommyland. He most recently came out with his new solo album, Tommyland: The Ride in August 2005.

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