Dr. Thomas Gordon "Tommie" Wright

By Gerald Ensley Tommie Wright came to Florida State University to escape New York winters and teach piano. He wound up becoming an icon. Wright, who had been in declining health, died Thursday evening at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He was 95. Wright taught music at FSU from 1949 to 2008 — with his 59-year tenure on the faculty the longest in school history. He was a wildly popular professor, who taught nearly 60,000 students. But he made a particular mark by writing the FSU Fight Song. Wright and Doug Alley wrote the fight song in 1950. Alley, then a student, had published the lyrics as an eight-line poem in the student newspaper and challenged someone to come up with the music. Wright famously churned out the music in just 20 minutes during his lunch break. Wright also gave the song its popular signature, adding the F-L-O-R-I-D-A, S-T-A-T-E chant at the end of the song. The song was first played at FSU's Homecoming football game in 1950. The stirring song has been played at every game since, various FSU events and even in space: Astronaut Norm Thagard, an FSU graduate, made it his wake-up song during a 1983 space flight. Alley, who went on to a long career as an English professor at Auburn University, died in 2008. "I've written lots of songs," Wright said in 1996. "But the only thing this world will remember me for is a 16-bar fight song (that) took me about 20 minutes (to write)." Maybe the world will remember him that way, but at FSU he was cherished for his unflagging energy and passion for teaching. "He was a legend," said T.K. Wetherell, the former FSU president. "The fight song is what most will remember him for. But he taught 60,000 kids,which has got to be a record. He was one of those who loved teaching and was committed to teaching. He was beloved by everyone." Wright was an FSU "49er," one of 125 professors hired in fall 1949 by President Doak Campbell, as FSU began to beef up the academic programs of a school that only two years before (1947) had switched from a woman's college to a co-ed university. Wright, a native of Indianapolis, had earned a master's degree from Indiana University and had worked toward but had not completed a Ph.D at Columbia. He had a busy career in New York as a pianist on television shows, providing background music for radio soap operas and composing jingles for radio advertising. But he leaped at Campbell's invitation to join the faculty and teach piano because of the Florida weather. "I figured I'd come down for a year and that would be that," Wright said in 2012. "I was ready to go a year without snow." Though he specialized in piano instruction when he first came, he quickly expanded into teaching undergraduate music appreciation and music history classes, "for which he was beloved by thousands and thousands of students," said longtime FSU music professor Cliff Madsen."He filled every classroom and lecture hall with positive energy and a bright disposition." Wright charmed students with his impressive musical talent and knowledge — plus an impish personality. Former Leon County Commissioner Bob Rackleff took a class in the 1960s from Wright, in which he greeted students the first day from the piano, gaily singing, "Welcome to Music 210, ya-da-da-da, Welcome to Music 210 . . . " "I learned a lot from that class even though I was a history major," Rackleff said. "He was a serious musician and added to my lifelong appreciation of classical music." Indeed, Wright was a celebrated concert pianist, who became renowned for concerts featuring songs by composer George Gershwin ("Rhapsody In Blue" became Wright's signature). He was active in musical theater and music production and composed dozens of songs. "He was an all-round musical person who had his hands in lots of different places," Madsen said. Wright was not without ego. In 2008, after he reluctantly retired ("I love teaching more than anything else," he said in 2012), he told then-Dean of Music Don Gibson he was willing to come back at the drop of a hat. "I want to remind you I'm here if you need me," Gibson recalled. "He said, 'I am a draw.' " Wright was notorious for refusing to reveal his age. Only a check with the Leon County supervisor of elections uncovered his March 21, 1919 birth date. But his wife, Rosalinda, who was "sworn to secrecy," said it was not about trying to appear younger. "The reason he wouldn't give his age was not necessarily vanity but because he felt sometimes people treated you differently because you were older," said Rosalinda Wright, his wife of 33 years. "He had an amazing zest for life. And he wanted people to 'see me for me, not for my age.' " Since his 2008 retirement, Wright served as an ambassador for the FSU Alumni Association. He toured the nation playing alumni events, ceremonies and gatherings. "Wherever we took him he was like a rock star; alumni realized they were in the midst of a living legend," said Scott Atwell, director of the FSU Alumni Association. "No one in history has touched the lives of more FSU alumni than Tommie Wright." In August 2012, FSU presented Wright with an honorary doctorate, which thoroughly delighted him. He also served as the commencement speaker, dispensing with a speech in favor of playing the piano, closing with the FSU fight song — which brought down the house. "Professor Wright's most significant legacy is intangible — the love and admiration of thousands of FSU alumni," said Garnett Stokes, FSU's interim president. "Years after graduating, many still refer to his class as transformational." Wright is survived by his wife of 33 years, Dr. Rosalinda Wright, head of the foreign languages department at Tallahassee Community College, five daughters, Candace Springer and her husband Ed Springer of Apalachicola, Florida, The Honorable Cynthia Wright of Atlanta, Georgia, Jessica Applegate and her husband Dr. Mark Applegate of Tallahassee, Florida, Desiree Bowen and her husband Chuck Bowen of Tallahassee, Florida, and Nicole Wright of Tallahassee, Florida and his eight grandchildren. The family will receive friends Thursday, May 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 312 Stadium Drive. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the church. Bevis Funeral Home, 850-385-2193, www.bevisfh.com, is assisting the family with their arrangements.

Tributes

Dr. Thomas Gordon "Tommie" Wright

March 21, 1919 - May 8, 2014