Tom Keifer

Carl Thomas Keifer (born January 26, 1961) is an American musician.

He is the lead singer, primary songwriter, and one of the guitarists for the hard rock band Cinderella.

Tom Keifer is a native of Springfield, Pennsylvania.

He grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at a young age.

He soon fell in love with the blues and was heavily influenced by this kind of music.

Keifer joined his first rock band while attending Springfield High School.

He soon learned to play the electric guitar.

The young musician struggled with drug and alcohol abuse in high school, and considered dropping out of school to pursue a music career.

However, his mother Adrienne bribed her son to stay in school by promising him a Gibson Les Paul guitar upon graduation.

Keifer graduated and received the coveted instrument.

Soon, Keifer conquered his addictions, and began to focus on a career as a musician.

He had started writing original material.

He also found financial support by walking race horses at tracks and delivering film to developing outlets.

For a time was a member of the Central Pa band Telepath.

Keifer came closer to his dream of being a successful artist by forming the hard rock band Cinderella with good friend and bassist Eric Brittingham.

Despite being shy, Keifer took on the role of lead singer because they could not find anyone they liked to sing for the band.

In articles, Keifer has said, "I don't feel comfortable when I'm up there singing and not playing guitar. I feel naked when it's just me and the microphone."

Cinderella was discovered initially by Gene Simmons of Kiss who unsuccessfully attempted to get the band signed.

It was then Jon Bon Jovi in 1985, at the Empire Rock Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that convinced his Mercury A&R manager Derek Schulman to sign the band.

Bon Jovi has been quoted as saying "I saw Tommy Keifer onstage delivering some pretty nifty, growling vocals. Then he whipped out this Les Paul and proceeded to lay into some astounding sounds. This guy struck me as a star right then and there."

Keifer and company experienced much success with their albums, Night Songs, Long Cold Winter, and Heartbreak Station.

Keifer enjoyed the reputation of being a prolific songwriter with hits such as "Shake Me", '"Nobody's Fool", "Gypsy Road", "Don't Know What You Got", "Coming Home", "Shelter Me", and "Heartbreak Station".

He also enjoyed spending time with his wife, Emily, whom he had married in 1987 after years of dating.

She also designed the band's unique logo and often accompanied her husband on tour.

After the Heartbreak Station tour Keifer lost his voice and was diagnosed with paralysis of the left vocal cord.

In 1994 Cinderella released their fourth album, Still Climbing.

It received little attention, and the band broke up in 1995.

Keifer continued to undergo surgeries on his vocal cords.

He also battled depression.

He was forced to learn how to sing again because of the paralysis of his left cord, but he eventually began working on material for a solo album.

He and Emily divorced, and he settled in Nashville, Tennessee, where he continued to work on his solo album.

The album was put on hold after Cinderella reunited in 1997 and toured in 1998.

They signed with Sony Music, but were dropped a few years later.

They released a greatest hits album, Once upon a… and a live album, Live at the Key Club.

Cinderella toured the United States in 2000 and again in 2002.

Keifer has a daily regimen, including warm-ups and exercises, that may last longer than some of his shows; however, Keifer feels that he has his condition "under control."

Cinderella was the headliner of the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour.

Keifer and Cinderella completed their 20th anniversary tour with fellow rock veterans Poison in 2006, who were also celebrating twenty years in the music business.

The tour was a rousing success and swiftly became one of the most successful tours of 2006, averaging about 12,000 people in attendance per night.

Cinderella had planned to tour in 2008 with Warrant, Lynch Mob, and Lynam.