Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas has had an unusual career, especially for someone who has been singing professionally for such a long time. Her first recording was in 1959 and her most recent, the magnificent Love Is The Foundation, in 2020.

She recorded a string of singles for the Minit and Imperial labels in the early and mid-sixties. Her biggest hit during this time was Wish Someone Would Care, which reached #17 on the Pop charts in 1964. But several other singles were very strong, including the original recording of Time Is On My Side (the Rolling Stones first top ten hit in the U.S.), It's Raining, Ruler Of My Heart, Cry On, and Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand). This era is well-documented on two near-identical compilations Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans (Razor and Tie) and The Irma Thomas Collection 1961-1966 (Capitol). There are others that also include some of her early seventies work, and while they are more inclusive, they are not better at all. And that's because her work for Chess, Canyon, Cotillion, and Fungus records between 1967-1974 just isn't as good as her earlier work, and in some cases, is poorly produced and downright disappointing. The "lost" records Full Time Woman (recorded in 1971, released in 2014) and In Between Tears 1973, are not her best work, and should probably be avoided.

Thomas continued recording the occasional single throughout the seventies with little success. She never stopped live performance completely, and used the stage at The Lion's Den, the New Orleans club she owned with her husband (until Katrina), to perform as often as she wished. She has also participated in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for many years and remains popular in her home town. 

In 1986 she began a long association with Rounder Records, releasing nine albums and two compilations between 1986 and 2009. All of her Rounder releases were lovingly produced by Scott Billington, including the fantastic Sing It! 1998 with Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson, and the Grammy-winning After The Rain 2006, recorded in the aftermath of Katrina. Not to mention her last original studio album release until 2020, Simply Grand 2008, which features a different piano player on each track, and overcomes it's cute premise with outstanding performances by the pianists, as well as Thomas. Good song selection, skilled bands, and Irma's mature soulful singing are the hallmarks of her Rounder output, and you can't go wrong with any of it. Her Rounder material has been the subject of two compilations, If You Want It, Come And Get It 2001 and The Soul Queen of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration 2009. There are only two songs that appear on both sets, and the latter also includes three new songs recorded in 2009. Then again, Sing It! and After The Rain are well worth owning.

And now, after ten years without a new release, Newvelle Records released Love Is The Foundation in 2020 as part of their four-LP The New Orleans Collection. The recording quality and performance of Irma Thomas and a crack ace band, the top notch song selection, and the sumptuous vinyl pressing all make for an exceptional experience. At 79 years old, Ms. Thomas not only can still sing, she inhabits these songs with her powerful and deep soul. It sounds like hyperbole to me, too, but it isn't. Newvelle recordings are only available as (high-priced) vinyl, but it is still almost too good not to hear.

A sixties soul queen matures into a contemporary gifted blues and soul singer with impeccable taste and deeply profound feeling. Her earliest work as well as her most recent outshine most if not all of the competition. A rare jewel, a treasure.