Genres: Soul, Gospel, New Orleans R&B, Contemporary Gospel Active: 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's Born: February 18, 1941 in Ponchatoula, LA
Earl King, Ruth Brown, Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Allen Toussaint, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Koko Taylor, Dave Bartholomew, Tamiya Lynn, Johnny Adams, Judy Clay, Fats Domino, Baby Washington, Rufus Thomas, Jerry Butler, James Carr, Neville Brothers Lou Ann Barton, Katie Webster, Candi Staton, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Ruthie Foster, Marcia Griffiths, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, The Small Faces, Marcia Ball, Shirley Brown, Rita Marley, Carrots |  |
The unrivaled Soul Queen of New Orleans -- a title officially bestowed by local officials, no less -- Irma Thomas ranks among Crescent City R&B's greatest and most enduring musical ambassadors, never enjoying the coast-to-coast commercial success of contemporaries like Aretha Franklin and Etta James but nevertheless breathing the same rarified air in the minds of many soul music aficionados. Born Irma Lee in Ponchatoula, LA, on February 18, 1941, as a teen she sang with a Baptist church choir, even auditioning for Specialty Records as a 13-year-old. A year later, she gave birth to her first child, marrying the baby's father and subsequently giving birth to another child before the union dissolved. At 17 she wed again, this time to one Andrew Thomas, having two more babies before she again divorced, all before the age of 20. Keeping her second ex-husband's surname, Thomas went to work as a waitress at New Orleans' Pimlico Club, occasionally sitting in with bandleader Tommy Ridgley.
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Release: August 25, 2009
Label: Rounder
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Release: August 12, 2008
Label: Rounder, Universal Distribution
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