Tommy Beavers
William Thomas “Tommy” Beavers (1949-2023) was a Grammy Award-winning drummer who made his home in Montgomery, Montgomery County. He is also known for playing with Montgomery native and Styx guitarist and vocalist Tommy Shaw in the band Harvest early in their careers. The left-handed Beavers played in numerous bands in many styles with many musicians across the United States early in his career and later in and around Montgomery. He was also a successful professional race-car driver.
Beavers was born on December 14, 1949, at the Chanute Air Force Base hospital in Illinois to Lewis Edward Beavers and Lou Ella Owens Beavers; he had one half-brother. His father was an airman serving in the U.S. Air Force. His passion for music started at age 12 when he began playing the drums. He was a self-taught musician who also showed a keen interest in piano and singing as well. His first break as a musician came when he joined The Creoles, a four-piece band based in central Tennessee. The band toured around the Southeast, allowing Beavers to hone his skills and gain experience as a drummer.
In 1967, Beavers moved to Las Vegas where he graduated from high school. He joined the "Jumping" Gene Simmons Band, the highlight of his early career. Simmons was a renowned American singer and songwriter who gained fame for his 1964 novelty single "Haunted House." While still in high school, Tommy played with Carl Hilding “Doc” Severinsen's backup band at the Sands Hotel. Beavers’s work with Severinsen, who gained renown for his work with the NBC Orchestra on the very popular The Tonight Show, led to him playing with other bands in the Las Vegas area in the late 1960s, such as Speedy and the Roadrunners. His musical journey took him to many places, including a stint with Colossus, a Texas rock and soul band from 1970 to 1972, when he settled in Montgomery to be near extended family.
In 1974, Beavers helped form the band Harvest with keyboardist and vocalist Eddie Wohlford, bass and keyboard player James “Jimbo” Jones, and guitarist Tommy Shaw, who later would join the rock band Styx. Harvest featured much original material written by Shaw and Wolford. The band opened for many headliners, including Blood Sweat & Tears and England Dan and John Ford Coley, and even played as an opening act for renowned rock band KISS in 1975 at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery.
After Shaw left Harvest, the remaining members became Harmony. The band brought in Beth Nielsen Chapman, who had occasionally performed with Harvest as a guitarist and vocalist, to replace Shaw. The band broke up in 1979, but members occasionally reformed over the years, given their popularity. Following the breakup, Beavers began working as an automobile mechanic at several car dealerships in Montgomery.
Beavers then moved to Destin, Florida, and played locally and co-founded Truth Audio, a studio monitor company. Building on this success, Beavers pursued his passion for professional racing again by competing in the GT4 road-race class at places such as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Daytona International Speedway. He would race for many years and even purchase one of famed actor Paul Newman’s racecars, in which he won many first-place finishes in Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
In 1991, Beavers joined Asleep at the Wheel, a Texas swing band led by Ray Benson, with which he played until 1995. During his time with the band, Beavers won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals on the album Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, recorded in 1993. The winning track, "Blues for Dixie," was sung by Lyle Lovett and won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album also received the Country Music Association nomination for Album of the Year in 1994 and a Grammy nomination that year for Best Country Album in 1994. (Another track from the album, “Red Wing,” had won Best Country Instrumental Performance in 1994.) In addition to the Grammy Awards and nominations, it was well received by critics and the public and reached number 17 on the RPM Canadian Country Albums chart and 35 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in the United States. The group also played at the Country Music Awards ceremony in 1994. Beavers continued to tour with the band and later teamed up with the Texas Tornadoes and the Sub Dudes, traveling to Scotland and Norway to perform.
Beavers returned to Montgomery, and reformed Harmony with former members Eddie Wolford on keyboards and Jimbo Jones on bass. Harmony also included guitarists Kelvin Holly and Bill Hinds, who did session work with Wayne Newton and Roy Orbison among others. Holly was later lead guitarist for Little Richard for some 20 years in addition to playing with the Amazing Rhythm Aces and Black Oak Arkansas. Harmony performed for many years at Kegler’s Kove, the lounge at the Bama Lanes bowling alley in Montgomery where Tommy Shaw was recruited to join Styx. Harmony was known for its faithful renditions of songs by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Steely Dan, and Little Feat, as well as the themes from the television series Gilligan’s Island and Green Acres. Nashville studio guitarist David Alfonso Jackson later filled in after the departure of Hinds and Holly.
Beavers acted in two films, with a small part in the 1971 Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry, and in the 2010 indie production The Last Ghost Tour, filmed in Destin. The following year, he played drums on the album High on the Hog with the MeanStreet Riders.
In more recent years, Beavers taught drums to young people through Montgomery Area Musicians Association workshops. He anchored the rhythm section in Graffiti Band with Ray Goss on bass, guitarist David Jackson, and Charles Langley on keyboards. The band played a wide variety of music, including dance melodies, country, disco, soft rock, and soul. Beavers also played similar music with other bands, including the Kandu Band and the Juke Box Allstars and River Rats with Goss, led by guitarist Andy Norman with keyboardists Beverly Palmer and Scott Dyess.
In 2017, Beavers was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame as an Achiever; someone who has made significant contributions to music and has achieved notable success in the music industry. This recognition meant more to him than any other part of his music career. In the spring of 2024, his drum kit and Grammy Award were displayed at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, Colbert County.
Beavers was married several times and was the father for five boys and one girl. He suffered from a number of ailments late in life and was hospitalized late in 2019 and again early in 2020 with a cellulitis infection in his left leg. It would continue to bother him thereafter. Despite declining health, Beavers continued to perform weekly shows in and around Montgomery. He played at the Hank Williams Centennial Birthday Celebration on September 16, 2023, hosted by the Hank Williams Museum at Troy University's Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Montgomery. He died on October 29, 2023, at his home in Wetumpka, Elmore County. A memorial and fundraising concert was held in Prattville, Autauga County, featuring many musicians from the area who played with Beavers, as well as Beth Neilson-Chapman, who flew in from a tour. Tommy Shaw promptly donated a guitar signed by his Styx bandmates, which was auctioned off with other memorabilia to help defray his funeral expenses.
