Thomas Lee Bass, more commonly known as Tommy Lee, is a well-known musician and founding member of the legendary heavy metal band, Mötley Crüe. As the band’s long-time drummer, Lee has contributed to the creation of some of the most iconic rock and roll anthems of all time.
In addition to his work with Mötley Crüe, Lee has explored various musical endeavors, including the creation of his own rap metal band, Methods of Mayhem, and solo projects.
With his impressive talent and relentless drive, Tommy Lee has not only become a household name in the music industry but has also amassed a substantial fortune that continues to grow. In this article, we’ll delve into the details of how Tommy Lee earned his wealth and uncover some fascinating facts about the acclaimed musician.
What Is Tommy Lee’s Net Worth?
Net Worth: | $70 Million |
Date of Birth: | Oct 3, 1962 (60 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Athens |
Gender: | Male |
A drummer and musician from the United States, Tommy Lee has a net worth of $70 million. Tommy Lee is best known for being the drummer and founding member of the rock band Mötley Crüe.
He has 20 albums (studio, compilations, and live) with Mötley Crüe, six of which have achieved platinum status. Tommy founded the rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem and has also had a fruitful solo career.
Tommy’s controversial association with actress Pamela Anderson helped him achieve enormous global prominence in the 1990s.
A home film the two made while on their honeymoon in Mexico eventually became a worldwide sensation, the focus of innumerable news stories, legal proceedings, and a 2022 Hulu original series.
The Birth of A Drumming Legend: Tommy Lee’s Early Years
On October 3, 1962, Thomas Lee Bass gave birth to Tommy Lee in Athens, Greece. His father was a sergeant in the US Army. In 1960, his mother was Miss Greece. Athena, his younger sister, is his name.
When Lee was around a year old, his family relocated to California. Lee got his first set of drumsticks when he was four years old. When he discovered hard rock and heavy metal, particularly Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple, he was a teenager and purchased his first real drum equipment.
Before quitting his high school marching band his senior year to concentrate on his goal of joining a rock band, Lee was a drummer in the group.
Early in the 1980s, Lee’s first band, Studio 19, performed on the Sunset Strip. After a Studio 19 performance, Lee got to know future Mötley Crüe bandmate, Nikki Sixx. Van Halen and Quiet Riot were among the other lesser-known bands performing on the Sunset Strip at the time.
The Rise of Tommy Lee: From Studio 19 to Mötley Crüe
Nikki Sixx was wanting to start a band that would be very theatrical and focused on strong metal anthems when Tommy Lee and Sixx first met. Sixx knew he had his drummer when he saw Lee perform with Studio 19. Together, they established the first iteration of Mötley Crüe when Sixx persuaded Lee to quit Studio 19.
Mick Mars, a guitarist, soon joined the new group. Lee suggested high school friend and singer Vince Neil complete the new band. Too Fast For Love, the band’s debut album from 1981, was published on its own independent label.
Soon after, Mötley Crüe was signed by Elektra Records, and Too Fast For Love was reissued in 1982. Mötley Crüe released a number of successful albums during the following ten years, including Shout at the Devil (1983), Theatre of Pain (1985), Girls, Girls, Girls (1987), and Dr. Feelgood (1989). (1989).
During his drum solos, Lee was renowned for using a variety of spectacular effects and stunts, such as floating his drum set above the crowd. As seen in the 2019 Netflix film The Dirt about the band, Tommy Lee and Mötley Crüe were well-known for their wild parties both on and offstage as well as the excessive amounts of drugs and booze they ingested.
How Tommy Lee Made Millions with Mötley Crüe?
Tommy Lee is the richest member of the band now thanks to his Mötley Crüe profits because he was a founding member of the group. The band’s 1981 debut album, Too Fast for Love, which brought the rock star an estimated $1 million in record sales, is when Lee’s earnings with the group allegedly began.
Two years later, the group’s sophomore album, Shout at the Devil, brought in an astounding $4,335,000 for Lee and was eventually recognized by the RIAA as being 4x platinum.
Following the release of their breakthrough single, Lee continued to work with the group and earned millions more, including an estimated $4.3 million for 1985’s Theatre of Pain, $4.2 million for 1987’s Girls, Girls, Girls, and an astounding $6.4 million from the 1989 album Dr. Feelgood.
However, Lee and his bandmates made hundreds of thousands of dollars extra through compilation and live album sales, such as their 1998 Greatest Hits album, which is said to have made Lee alone an additional $500,000 in revenue.
According to The Richest, Lee earned approximately $26 million as a part of Mötley Crüe cumulatively throughout the years. In contrast, his ex-wife Pamela Anderson made about $300,000 every Baywatch episode and, at the height of her career, earned over $6.6 million.
Tommy Lee’s Musical Collaborations: A Look at His Many Side Projects
Techniques of Mayhem is a supergroup-style rap-metal band that Lee founded in 1999. The group started a tour in promotion of its self-titled debut album the same year Techniques of Mayhem was published.
Never a Dull Time, Lee’s debut solo album, was released in 2002. In the same year, Lee’s solo band was added to Ozzfest, a festival dedicated to heavy metal music.
In 2004, Lee and the other members of Mötley Crüe’s original lineup came together to record Red, White & Crüe, a double-CD anthology album.
The new album, which was much anticipated by the band’s followers and went triple platinum, was followed by a significant tour. The band’s first tour in six years, Better Live Than Dead, featured 81 performances. It was titled Red, White & Crüe.
He played the drums in the school’s marching band and attended studies at the University of Nebraska in his own reality series, Tommy Lee Goes to College, which premiered in 2005. Tommyland, Lee’s autobiography, and Tommyland: The Ride, his second solo album, were both released in the same year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a string of stadium performances by Mötley Crüe in 2020 alongside Poison, Def Lepard, Joan Jett, and the Blackhearts have been postponed.
Tommy Lee’s Lavish Homes: From A Malibu Mansion to A Calabasas Estate
Tommy paid $837,886 for a house in the Malibu hills on February 14, 1995. He would shortly move in with Pamela Anderson at this house. In reality, they got hitched on a Mexican beach just a few days after he purchased this house. Pamela and Tommy moved into the house after their trip to Mexico and started a significant remodeling.
They maintained a sizable safe in their garage. The white bikini she wore to their wedding, many guns, some jewelry, and more were kept in that safe. as well as their notorious home video sex DVD.
An electrician called Rand Gauthier, who was enraged by Tommy’s claimed refusal to pay a $20–30,000 bill, planned a complex plot to take the safe from the garage in October 1995. Rand quickly spread the word about the house to the populace.
This Malibu residence was featured in a well-known “MTV Cribs” episode that aired in 2000. In 2005, Tommy sold the house for $2.5 million. Here is how the house appeared at a subsequent sale:
Tragically, a fire in November 2019 entirely destroyed the Malibu mansion. After the fire, Tommy went on a tour of the house and shared several pictures and a video on Instagram.
Tommy Lee put his Calabasas, California, house on the market for $4.65 million at the end of May 2018. The 10,000-square-foot house includes an atrium with a retractable glass roof, indoor waterfalls, six bedrooms, and eight bathrooms. The house also contains a saltwater piano-shaped pool, a stone saltwater spa, and a koi pond.
There is also a second kitchen, a full gym, a home theatre, a wine room, and an outside entertaining space with a grill, fires, and torch lighting. The 13-car garage was turned into a recording studio Lee. The house was previously listed by him for $6 million in 2016.
Conclusion
Tommy Lee is a legendary musician and founding member of Mötley Crüe, with a net worth of $70 million. His contributions to the rock and heavy metal genres have earned him a place in music history.
His wild and controversial personal life has also contributed to his fame, and he continues to be a prominent figure in the music industry today.
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