⬇️ IRMA THOMAS ⬇️
(Irma Lee)
DISCOGRAPHY 1964-2015 (43CD/DVD)
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.
Born Irma Lee, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, United States, as a
teenager she sang with a Baptist church choir. She 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; its B-side
"Breakaway", written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheely (later
covered by Tracey Ullman, among others).
"Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" was co-written by
a young Randy Newman and future country star Jeannie Seely. This
song has gained renewed appreciation as a result of its inclusion in
numerous episodes of the science fiction anthology television series
Black Mirror, stretching back to the first season. On its B-side is
"Time Is on My Side", a song previously recorded by Kai Winding and
later by the Rolling Stones.
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. The film's actors Roberto Benigni
and Nicoletta Braschi, whose characters fell in love in the movie,
danced to the song.
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.....
(Wikipedia)