Television became one of the most revered bands to emerge from the CBGB scene in punk-era New York thanks to Tom Verlaine's wry, surrealistic lyrics and casual brilliance as a guitarist. Verlaine—the stage name for Tom Miller, born in 1949, in Denville, NJ—continued to dazzle and confound expectations throughout the richly varied solo career he launched after Television's initial breakup in 1978. After releasing a steady stream of archly literate and complex rock songs through the '80s and '90s, Verlaine found new vessels for his idiosyncratic style, including the jazzier instrumental music and haunting soundtrack contributions that became prevalent in his later years. Work with the reunited Television and old friends like Patti Smith kept Verlaine busy up until his death in 2023.