Background
Thompson was born in Waco, Texas and raised in Oklahoma City.
Thompson was born in Waco, Texas and raised in Oklahoma City.
Thompson then started singing in local talent shows in hopes of his music career to take official While performing "Is This The End" by New Edition Thompson and the other three guys came in fourth place but that didn"t stop Thompson strive for success. Local talent and up and coming artist William Walton reached out to Tony in hopes of making his music dreams a reality.
He was noticed by the first Rhythm & Blues group signed by Jive Records, which consisted of Toriano Easley (Later replaced by Treston Irby), Marcus Sanders, Russell Neal, and Roderick "Pooh" Clark who were also from Waco.
Hi-Five signed with Jive Records in 1990. The quintet"s self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and produced several hits, including "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)", "I Can"t Wait Another Minute", and "Just Another Girlfriend".
In 1992, the group released their second album, Keep lieutenant Goin" On, with "She"s Playing Hard to Get" and "Quality Time". Their third album, Faithful, was released in 1993.
Thompson"s solo debut, Sexsational, was released on Giant Records in 1995.
Thompson formed his own record label, North"Depth, and re-incarnated Hi-Five with four new members. The group"s next album, The Return was released in 2005. On June 1, 2007, Thompson"s body was discovered by security officers at around 10 p.m. near an air-conditioning unit outside of an apartment complex in his native Waco, Texas.
An autopsy later determined that Thompson died from “toxic effects of chlorodifluoromethane,” or inhaling a toxic amount of freon.
He is buried at Doris Miller Memorial Park in Waco.