Tom Finn, Last Original Member of The Left Banke, R.I.P.

Tom Finn, bass player and back up singer for the 1960's baroque pop group The Left Banke, passed away on Saturday after a long illness. He was 71.

Finn was the last original surviving member of The Left Banke and was the second member of the band to pass away in 2020. In January, lead singer Steve Martin Caro passed away of heart failure also at the age of 71. Drummer George Cameron died two years ago while Michael Brown, who wrote the group's biggest hit "Walk Away Renee" passed away in 2015.

In the early 1980's, Finn found success as a DJ at the suggestion of Studio 54 founder Steve Rubell. In 2000, Finn was the DJ at the White House Millennium Gala hosted by Bill and Hillary Clinton.

In 2011, Finn along with Cameron would reconvene The Left Banke with a coterie of other musicians. They would be joined by Brown for a one off show at B.B. King's in New York City in 2012.

While Finn did not write any material on The Left Banke's 1966 debut album Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina he contributed heavily to Left Banke Too (1967) and Strangers on a Train (recorded in 1978 but not released until 1986). The standout track on the latter album is "I Can Fly" and I think it an appropriate tribute not only to Finn but to the rest of the band which has been reunited in Heaven. R.I.P.