George Tomsco

Heard most often in <a href="spotify:artist:6Rboxwjnvu3wLcwzhlnaSO">the Fireballs</a>, George Tomsco's nimble guitar work was influenced by rockabilly, country & western, and Latin music. Although few fans would recognize his name, he was one of the most popular and influential instrumentalists of Tex-Mex styled rock music, finding particular favor in Britain with <a href="spotify:artist:03hfAxVdAWj7kxDnSG0fLD">the Shadows</a>, who covered some <a href="spotify:artist:6Rboxwjnvu3wLcwzhlnaSO">Fireballs</a> songs. In addition to playing with <a href="spotify:artist:6Rboxwjnvu3wLcwzhlnaSO">the Fireballs</a> (who also recorded with vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:6Vg8U5m1yHwqRyQMi87tay">Jimmy Gilmer</a>), Tomsco played on numerous sessions in the late '50s and 1960s, often working at the Clovis, NM, studios of <a href="spotify:artist:5M0cZ39iat2YdgcQX627oq">Norman Petty</a>, famous for producing several <a href="spotify:artist:3wYyutjgII8LJVVOLrGI0D">Buddy Holly</a> hits. Although he was most frequently heard as a session player on instrumental records that bore some similarity to those of <a href="spotify:artist:6Rboxwjnvu3wLcwzhlnaSO">the Fireballs</a>, or with vocalists who were trying to imitate <a href="spotify:artist:3wYyutjgII8LJVVOLrGI0D">Holly</a>, he was versatile enough to also contribute to sides by folksinger <a href="spotify:artist:5Yy26jXSEFqj1art47bJyc">Carolyn Hester</a> and soul artist <a href="spotify:artist:0j4pxInmdtF4bYQj0VVpbz">Arthur Alexander</a>. He didn't record on his own often, but a 30-song anthology consisting mostly of tracks he did with <a href="spotify:artist:6Rboxwjnvu3wLcwzhlnaSO">the Fireballs</a> and as a session musician, The Tex-Mex Fireball, was issued under his name in 1998. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi