Rob Thomas

Robert Kelly Thomas (born February 14, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

He is the lead vocalist for the Florida-based alternative rock band Matchbox Twenty, which he formed in 1995 and with whom he has released five studio albums.

As a solo act, he is best known for his guest performance on Santana's 1999 single "Smooth", which won three Grammy Awards, peaked the Billboard Hot 100 and in 2018, was named the second most successful song in the chart's history.

In 2004, the Songwriters Hall of Fame awarded Thomas its first Hal David Starlight Award which recognizes young songwriters who've quickly gained a lasting influence in the music industry.

Thomas was born in Landstuhl, Germany, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to Bill Thomas, a United States Army sergeant, and Mamie.

Thomas has an elder half sister, Melissa, from his mother's previous marriage.

The family returned to the United States when Thomas was six months old.

His parents divorced when he was two years old.

Thomas lived with his mother and sister.

They were poor and moved frequently, often staying with Mamie's mother in Lake City, South Carolina.

His grandmother was an alcoholic.

She owned a small country store and gas station, where she also sold moonshine and marijuana under the counter.

He grew up listening to country music and idolized the "big stars who lived ... hard lives", like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.

Their stories inspired him to be a songwriter.

Thomas and his mother and sister moved to Sarasota, Florida, when he was 10, then settled in the Orlando area the following year.

Around this time, Thomas received his first musical instrument, a Casio keyboard.

A friend taught him to play, and Thomas practiced by trying to reproduce the songs he heard on the radio.

He also acquired a guitar with no strings, which he used as a prop while he pretended he was in a rock band.

His home life was not stable.

Thomas describes his mother as an alcoholic who occasionally beat him.

When Thomas was 12, his mother was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma and given only six months to live.

His sister ran away from home to get married, leaving Thomas to care for their mother on his own.

She eventually entered remission.

Mamie dated a series of men, some of whom beat her, and she loved wild parties.

Thomas sometimes woke up to find "10 strangers sleeping off last night's booze-a-thon in the living room".

He attended Lake Brantley High School in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs.

Thomas joined the choir in an unsuccessful attempt to attract the attention of a girl that he liked.

His choir teacher told him to keep working, because he saw potential in him.

To impress girls at parties, Thomas wrote and played music.

A few months before graduation, Thomas dropped out of high school, saying his "regular life was in such disarray that going seemed ridiculous".

He later earned a GED.

He was convicted of stealing a Camaro and spent two months in county jail when he was 17.

For the next two or three years, Thomas was homeless.

Occasionally he'd stay for a few days or weeks at the homes of various friends.

At other times, he would hitchhike around Florida and South Carolina.

Soon after getting out of jail, Thomas connected with several local musicians.

His 2005 single, "Lonely No More" was his first to be released as a lead solo artist.

It peaked at number six on the chart and led his debut solo album, ...Something to Be (2005), which peaked atop the Billboard 200.

As part of Matchbox Twenty, Thomas has written and performed their string of commercially successful singles, including "Push", "3AM", "Real World", "Back 2 Good", "Bent", "If You're Gone", "Mad Season", "Disease", "Unwell", "Bright Lights", "How Far We've Come", and "She's So Mean".

Outside of recording, Thomas has also been a credited songwriter for other artists including Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Marc Anthony, Pat Green, Taylor Hicks, Travis Tritt, and Daughtry.