Ridgley, Thomas Tommy
(1925–1999)
Ridgley, Thomas Tommy 30 October 1925; Shrewesbury section of Jefferson Parish, LA – 11 August 1999; New Orleans, LA If Tommy Ridgley never gained much of a commercial foothold outside of his native New Orleans, he participated energetically in that city’s musical culture for a half a century. A self-taught keyboard player, Ridgley joined Dave Bartholomew ’s landmark band as a vocalist in 1949. Together with Jewel King on “ Shrewsbury Blues (sic),” he was the first New Orleans vocalist to…