Book excerpt: Gold Thunder is the autobiography of music legend Tony Newton. It chronicles his life from the early years as kid musician, beating the competition to become a Motown bassist during the explosion of American music in the 1960’s Detroit. Newton’s story is the story of a musician’s quest for excellence, and we follow him through a career as a “first call” bass player and recording artist in Detroit and in Los Angeles and worldwide touring artist up through the present day. It is also the story of a musician’s challenges and sacrifices to follow his destiny. Gold Thunder Follows Newton’s career as a bass player with Motown and Blues stars, including John Lee Hooker, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and others. From being a cocky kid trying to fight his way into the music business in Detroit, Newton goes on to become a musician-artist in various music groups, including The Eighth Day, Tony Williams Lifetime, G-Force with Gary Moore, TNT Xtreme, and the Thunderfunkfusion project. Quotes from industry leaders and critics: “When I arrived at Motown in 1963, Tony Newton was already there as the bass player for the Smokey and the Miracles. He was even there before Earl Van Dyke or Uriel Jones. Tony and I were two of the first musicians (now still living) to tour Europe with Motown acts. He was and still is one of the best bass players that ever did it. Later, when I became a touring artist, Tony joined me as the bass player. I was very familiar with his skills, but during a sound check, Tony sat at the piano and performed a sensational original classical composition. I was totally surprised at his versatility. When I recall the production of the documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, I say here and now, based on the facts, Tony Newton is a Funk Brother.” …Jack Ashford, Legendary Motown Funk Brother and Grammy Winner “Tony Newton, super genius, will go down in history as one of the most vital path-forgers of our era” …Music critic Randali of Mean Street Magazine “Like Allan Holdsworth, he not only plays long beautiful lines, but at the same time he plays very rhythmically. Some bass players are busy playing the bass as if it's another guitar. That's fine with me, except that it wasn't what I wanted for the band” …Tony Williams “Once in a while, not very often, a songwriter will come up with what we call a ‘classic.’ That’s what Tony Newton has managed to do on Tony Williams album "Believe It." Newton’s songs "Snake Oil" and "Red Alert" are both classics. I just played a week’s gig at the Iridium club in New York. Guess what the only song we played that wasn’t my own? Snake Oil of course!” …Robby Krieger, The Doors “Architect of Fusion Brings The Edge To Extreme Music Minds! Legendary Musician-composer’s new Thunderfunkfusion project promises inspiring music frontiers for exploring music lovers.” …Quantum Media Music