Thomas F. Kelly (born April 16, 1952) is an American musician. With Billy Steinberg he co-wrote numerous hit songs for popular music artists, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Top 100 chart in the 1980s.
In 1974 Kelly moved to Los Angeles with his first wife, Kay Kelly, and two children, Barry and Denise. He played in Dan Fogelberg's backup band, and joined with other members of the band under the name 'Fools Gold' to release two albums in 1976 and 1977. Kelly became a prominent session singer in Los Angeles, singing backing vocals for many recording artists. He accompanied Toto on their 1979 World Tour as a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and sang background vocals on the Toto albums Toto IV, Isolation and The Seventh One. In 1981 he wrote his first hit song, "Fire and Ice", with Pat Benatar for her album Precious Time.
After Kelly met Steinberg at a party in 1981, the duo began writing songs together, with Steinberg as lyricist and Kelly the principal music writer. Steinberg and Kelly wrote songs for a variety of popular music artists, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The pair also joined together as 'i-Ten' to release the album Taking a Cold Look in 1983.
Notable songs written by Steinberg and Kelly include:
Kelly co-wrote "In My Dreams", recorded by REO Speedwagon with Kevin Cronin but Kelly lost enthusiasm for songwriting in the mid-1990s, and went into semi-retirement in 1998. He remarried and had two more children, Spencer and Tyson Kelly, with his second wife, Polly Russell Kelly (niece of actress Jane Russell). His son, Tyson, has followed in his footsteps as a songwriter and performer. His son, Spencer, became a founding member of the PRO Global Music Rights. As of 2011, he lives in Thousand Oaks, California near Sherwood Country Club where he enjoys playing golf regularly.[2]
^ abcdGrimes, Bill (March 26, 2011). "Into the Hall of Fame". Effingham Daily News. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
^Brouk, Tim (June 30, 2011). "Hitmaking West Lafayette grad honored for songwriting". Journal & Courier.