Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas was born on February 18, 1941, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans".

Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial success. In 2007, she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for "After the Rain", her first Grammy in a career spanning over 50 years.

As a teenager, she sang with a Baptist church choir and auditioned for Specialty Records at the age of 13. By the time she was 19, she had been married twice and had four children. Keeping her second ex-husband's surname, she worked as a waitress in New Orleans, occasionally singing with bandleader Tommy Ridgley, who helped her land a record deal with the local Ron label. Her first single, "Don't Mess with My Man", was released in late 1959, and reached number 22 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

She then began recording on the Minit label, working with songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint on songs including "It's Raining" and "Ruler of My Heart", which was later reinterpreted by Otis Redding as "Pain in My Heart". Imperial Records acquired Minit in 1963, and a string of successful releases followed. These included "Wish Someone Would Care", her biggest national hit.

"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" was co-written by a young Randy Newman and future country star Jeannie Seely. Her first four Imperial singles all charted on Billboard's pop chart, but her later releases were less successful. Unlike her contemporaries Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick, she never managed to cross over into mainstream commercial success. She recorded for Chess Records in 1967–1968 with some success; her version of the Otis Redding song "Good to Me" reached the R&B chart. She then relocated to California, releasing records on various small labels, before returning to Louisiana, and in the early 1980s opened the Lion's Den Club.

"Down by Law", the 1986 independent film by Jim Jarmusch featured "It's Raining" in the soundtrack.

After several years' break from recording, she was signed by Rounder Records, and in 1991 earned her first Grammy Award nomination for "Live! Simply the Best", recorded in San Francisco. She subsequently released a number of traditional gospel albums, together with more secular recordings. The album "Sing It!" (1998) was nominated for a Grammy in 1999.

Thomas is still active as a performer, appearing annually at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She reigned as 'Queen of the Krewe du Vieux' for the 1998 New Orleans Mardi Gras season. She often headlined at her own club, but it went out of business due to Hurricane Katrina, which caused her to relocate to Gonzales, Louisiana, 60 miles from New Orleans. According to her website, she is now back in her home in New Orleans.

In April 2007, Thomas was honored for her contributions to Louisiana music with induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Also in 2007, Thomas accepted an invitation to participate in "Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino" where, singing with Marcia Ball, she contributed "I Just Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind". The same year she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for "After the Rain".

In August 2009, a compilation album with three new songs titled "The Soul Queen of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration" was released from Rounder Records to commemorate Thomas' 50th year as a recording artist.

In 2013, Thomas was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the "Soul Blues Female Artist" category, which she duly won. She won the same award again in 2014.

In 2018, Thomas received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance at the Americana Music Honors & Awards.

(Irma Thomas at 2007 Pocono Blues Festival in Pennsylvania)