Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) 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.

Life and career Born Irma Lee, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, United States, she was the daughter of Percy Lee, a steel chipper, and Vader Lee, who worked as a maid. 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", On its B-side is "Time Is on My Side", 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. 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, from New Orleans. she was back in her home in New Orleans.

Thomas is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film Make It Funky!, which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk and jazz. In the film, she performed "Old Records" with Allen Toussaint.

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.

Thomas was the subject of the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival poster. She was chosen as the subject before the painting was chosen for the poster. Artist Douglas Bourgeois painted the singer in 2006. In 2010, Thomas rode in the New Orleans parade "Grela". In April that year, Thomas performed at the Corner Hotel, Richmond, Victoria, Australia.

In 2011, Thomas performed twice at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. On April 24, she performed on the Crossroads stage, coming on after Mavis Staples; then on April 25, she headlined the Crossroads stage, coming on after Jethro Tull and Osibisa.

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 in 2014.

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

On May 2, 2024, Thomas appeared onstage with the Rolling Stones at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where she and Mick Jagger sang a duet of her 1964 hit song "Time Is On My Side", which the Stones also recorded just months after her version was released. The song was the Stones' first Top Ten American hit, and the Jazz Fest set was the first time that Thomas and the Stones have performed together.

In 2025, Thomas's album Audience with the Queen came out with Galactic, the New Orleans electro-funkers.

Artists worked with Tommy Ridgley Eddie Bo Edgar Blanchard Bill Sinigal Irving Banister Patsy Vidalia Marcia Ball Dr. John Allen Toussaint Hugh Laurie Skip Easterling Danny White

Influences Etta James Mahalia Jackson Pearl Bailey Nancy Wilson Brook Benton John Lee Hooker Percy Mayfield

Discography Singles Year A-side B-side Record label and catalog reference US chart statistics 1959 "Don't Mess with My Man" "Set Me Free" Ron Records 328 No. 22 – R&B 1959 "A Good Man" "I May Be Wrong" Ron Records 330 1961 "Girl Needs Boy" "Cry On" Minit Records 625 1961 "It's Too Soon to Know" "That's All I Ask" Minit Records 633 1962 "Gone" "I Done Got Over It" Minit Records 642 1962 "It's Raining" "I Did My Part" Minit Records 653 1962 "Two Winters Long" "Somebody Told Me" Minit Records 660 1963 "Ruler of My Heart" "Hittin' on Nothing" Minit Records 666 1963 "For Goodness Sake" "Whenever (Look Up)" Bandy Records 368 1963 "Foolish Girl" "When I Met You" Bumpa Records 711 1964 "Wish Someone Would Care" "Break-A-Way" Imperial Records 66013 No. 17 – Pop No. 2 – R&B 1964 "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" "Time Is on My Side" Imperial Records 66041 No. 52 – Pop No. 29 – R&B 1964 "Times Have Changed" "Moments to Remember" Imperial Records 66069 No. 98 – Pop No. 30 – R&B 1964 "He's My Guy" "(I Want A) True, True Love" Imperial Records 66080 No. 63 – Pop No. 24 – R&B 1965 "You Don't Miss a Good Thing (Until It's Gone)" "Some Things You Never Get Used To" Imperial Records 66095 No. 109 – Pop 1965 "I'm Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry" "Nobody Wants to Hear Nobody's Troubles" Imperial Records 66106 No. 130 – Pop 1965 "The Hurt's All Gone" "It's Starting to Get to Me Now" Imperial Records 66120 1965 "Take a Look" "What Are You Trying to Do" Imperial Records 66137 No. 118 – Pop 1966 "It's a Man's – Woman's World (Part 1)" "It's a Man's – Woman's World (Part 2)" Imperial Records 66178 No. 119 – Pop 1967 "Cheater Man" "Somewhere Crying" Chess Records 2010 1967 "A Woman Will Do Wrong" "I Gave You Everything" Chess Records 2017 1968 "Good to Me" "We Got Something Good" Chess Records 2036 No. 42 – R&B 1970 "Save a Little Bit for Me" "That's How I Feel About You" Canyon Records 21 1971 "I'd Do It All Over You" "We Won't Be in Your Way Anymore" Canyon Records 31 1972 "Full Time Woman" "She's Taking My Part" Cotillion Records 41444 1973 "She'll Never Be Your Wife" "You're the Dog" Fungus Records 15119 1973 "In Between Tears (Part 1)" "In Between Tears (Part 2)" Fungus Records 15141 1974 "Coming from Behind (Part 1)" "Coming from Behind (Part 2)" Fungus Records 15353 1977 "Don't Blame Him" "Breakaway" Maison de Soul 1012 1978 "Hip Shakin' Mama" "Hittin' on Nothin'" Maison de Soul 1058 1979 "Safe With Me" "Zero Willpower" RCS Records 1006 1980 "Take What You Find" "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" RCS Records 1008 1980 "A Woman Left Lonely" "Dance Me Down Easy" RCS Records 1010 1981 "Looking Back" "Don't Stop" RCS Records 1013 1988 "Mardi Gras Mambo" "I Believe Saints Go All the Way"Sound of New Orleans 10311 2013 "For the Rest of My Life" "Forever Young" Swamp Island

Albums Year Title Record label Notes 1964 Wish Someone Would Care Imperial 1966 Take a Look Imperial 1973 In Between Tears Fungus 1977 Irma Thomas Live – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Island 1978 Soul Queen of New Orleans Maison de Soul 1979 Safe with Me RCS 1981 In Between Tears Charly Reissue of the Fungus LP 1981 Hip Shakin' Mama Charly Reissue of the Island LP 1984 Down at Muscle Shoals Chess/P-Vine from 1967/68 for Chess 1986 The New Rules Rounder 1988 The Way I Feel Rounder 1991 Live: Simply the Best Rounder 1992 True Believer Rounder 1993 Walk Around Heaven: New Orleans Gospel Soul Rounder 1993 Turn My World Around Shanachie 1997 The Story of My Life Rounder 1998 Sing It! Rounder with Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson 2000 My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn Rounder 2006 After the Rain Rounder Grammy winner, Best Contemporary Blues Album

Compilation albums Year Title Record label Notes 1979 Irma Thomas Sings Bandy Minit/Bandy recordings 1983 Time Is on My Side Kent Minit/Imperial recordings 1986 Break-A-Way: The Best of Irma Thomas Legendary Masters Series (EMI-USA) 1987 BreakaWay Stateside Minit/Imperial recordings 1990 Something Good: The Muscle Shoals Sessions MCA/Chess Chess recordings 1991 Safe with Me/Irma Thomas Live Paula 1992 Time Is on My Side: The Best of Irma Thomas Volume 1 EMI-USA Minit/Imperial 1996 Ruler of Hearts Charly Minit/Bandy/Island 1996 Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans: The Irma Thomas Collection Razor & Tie Minit/Imperial 1996 Time Is on My Side Kent Expanded version of 1983 LP 2001 If You Want It, Come and Get It Rounder 2005 Straight from the Soul Stateside Minit/Imperial 2006 A Woman's Viewpoint: The Essential 1970s Recordings Ace Fungus/Canyon/RCS 2006 Wish Someone Would Care/Take a Look Collectables Imperial 2009 The Soul Queen of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration Rounder Three previously unreleased, out of fifteen tracks 2005 I Believe to My Soul Various artists Rhino Singing "Loving Arms" 2005 Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast Various artists Elektra/Nonesuch Singing "Back Water Blues" 2006 Sing Me Back Home The New Orleans Social Club Burgundy/Honey Darling Duet with Marcia Ball on "Look Up" 2007 Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino Various artists Vanguard Duet with Marcia Ball on "I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind" 2011 Let Them Talk Hugh Laurie Warner Bros. Vocals on "John Henry" and "Baby, Please Make a Change"

Filmography Year Title Notes 1978 Always for Pleasure 2005 Make It Funky! 2006 New Orleans Music in Exile 2010 Treme TV series