Another legendary Northern
Soul smash, that we filmed for
The Strange World Of Northern
Soul, from legendary New
Orleans songstress Irma
Thomas, with one of those
classics from the early days
of Blackpool Mecca that sadly
seems to be neglected and
forgotten these days, 'What
Are You Trying To Do' on the
Imperial label, from 1
more

Another legendary Northern
Soul smash, that we filmed for
The Strange World Of Northern
Soul, from legendary New
Orleans songstress Irma
Thomas, with one of those
classics from the early days
of Blackpool Mecca that sadly
seems to be neglected and
forgotten these days, 'What
Are You Trying To Do' on the
Imperial label, from 1967.
Irma Thomas was born on
February 18, 1941, at
Ponchatoula, Louisiana. She is
a Grammy Award winning soul
and rhythm and blues singer,
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; still, she has a
large cult following among
soul aficionados. In 2007, she
won the Grammy for Best
Contemporary Blues Album for
'After The Rain', her first
Grammy in an acclaimed career
spanning over 45 years. Born
Irma Lee, as a teen she sang
with a Baptist church choir,
auditioning for Specialty
Records as a 13 year old. By
the age of 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 Ronn
label. Her first single, 'You
Can Have My Husband (But Don't
Mess With My Man),' was
released in spring 1960, and
reached the number 22 spot on
the 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 'I Wish Someone
Would Care' (her biggest
national hit), its B-side '
Break-a-Way' (later covered by
Tracey Ullman among others),
'Anyone Who Knows What Love
Is', and 'Time Is on My Side'
(a song previously recorded by
Kai Winding, and later by the
Rolling Stones). Although her
first four Imperial singles
all charted on Billboard's pop
chart, later releases were
less successful, and, 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 1967/68 with some success,
the Otis Redding song 'Good To
Me' reaching 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
her own club, the Lion's Den.
After several years' break
from recording, she was signed
by Rounder Records, and in
1991 earned her first-ever
Grammy 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
!' was nominated for a Grammy
in 1999.

Category Music

Tags Northern-Soul, Motorcity, Blackpool-Mecca, Sixties-Soul, New-Orleans, Diva, Girl-Groups, Wigan-Casino