Irma Thomas' lost early-70s soul sides After relocating from New Orleans to Los Angeles, soul queen Irma Thomas largely disappeared from public view for a few years. But a series of singles produced by Jerry Williams (a.k.a. Swamp Dogg) on the indieCanyon, Roker and Fungus labels led to this eight-track release in 1973. Williams had proven himself a talented musician and producer, and in the latter capacity he leaves behind the absurdist humor of his own records to bring Thomas a helping of Southern soul and West Coast funk. Thomas' new material, much of [...]
The classic Irma Thomas album In Between Tears will be re-released on May 14 . The CD and digital versions will include two bonus tracks and new liner notes written by the albums producer, Jerry Williams, Jr. , also known as, Swamp Dogg . It will also be released on vinyl for the first time since it was originally released in 1973. Speaking of Swamp Dogg , his [...]
Download: 10-may-evry-day-be-christmas-c opy.mp3
Cover It Up: But Take Care Rihanna and Drake. Not the usual Berri-suspects, but their track “I’ll Take Care Of You” from Drake’s 2011 album “Take Care” is, in this case, worth keeping in remand. Rihanna & Drake – I’ll Take Care Of You Download here (Right Click, Save As) Guilty of blasphemy? I will [...]
![[anticipation] Holidays Rule](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4566082_lg.jpg)
More holiday tunes to look forward to! Starbucks’ label, Hear Music , and Concord will release a compilation of artists covering holiday classics on Oct 30th. Holidays Rule will feature the likes of The Civl Wars , Eleanor Friedberger , The Head and The Heart [...]
After the Stones released their first LP, they set out for the US in the summer in 1964. They didn't exactly conquer America. On the heels of the Beatles success here before them, they arrived with no big hit record to promote and to less fanfare than they were used to back home in the UK. The first leg of their tour was marked by poor attendance and a US Television debut in which they were ridiculed by host Dean Martin on Hollywood Palace. Still, remarkable things were happening. At the San Antonio [...]
Frank Ocean performs Friday at Showbox A great week of shows ahead. Starting on Monday night, we've got the first two night with Codeine at the Triple Door, On Tuesday The Young Evils play a free in-store show at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne, while James Hunter and Jesse Dee settle in for the first of two nights at Jazz Alley. Wednesday night, Kid Hops joins Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals at the Showbox, and on Thursday there's the first of many Free Summer [...]
We must of course include the Soul Queen of New Orleans in this series. Irma Thomas. She's an Ear Hole darling from the past, after all. As with Toussaint, here's to hoping this Nawlins she-rex takes a power nap and surfaces on stage at one of the late-nighters. If not, can't wait to hear the [...] • Facebook • Twitter • Delicious • Digg • StumbleUpon • Add to favorites • Email • RSS
The enchanting songstress shares her influences // Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.
The overriding WOW(!) factor that jumped out most when the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival lineup was released was the caliber of both the newer and established female artists in the lineup. This year the Jazz Fest organizers hit the nail on the head with their attention to the amazing array of new [...]
This is from the Irma Thomas album Simply Grand.
Last night, The Joy Theater opened its doors to the general public for the first time since 2003 with a performance by Irma Thomas and Lance Ellis to help the the 1947 Canal Street theater spring back into action. Marc Pagani was there to capture photos of what will surely be the first of many [...]
Thursday night will mark a new era on Canal Street when The Joy Theater reopens on December 29th, led by a string of shows and starting with Irma Thomas and Lance Ellis. The following night Cyril Neville’s Tribe 13 and Soul Rebels Brass Band will play and Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers will perform [...]
The Eagles and Tom Petty play the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for the first time, as 20122s lineup is announced for the sprawling outdoor music event featuring rock, jazz, Americana, gospel, rhythm and blues, Cajun and zydeco. Advance tickets will be available at nojazzfest.com. Other notables include Herbie Hancock, Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, Bonnie Raitt, the Zac [...]
Charlie Brooker's latest venture 'Black Mirror' continues to examine the darker side of the human psyche; The trilogy concludes this Sunday (18 th December), last Sundays episode focused on a horrific talent contest that will (hopefully) remain in the realms of fiction; The song that plays out the episode is a beautiful slice of New Orleans soul from Irma Thomas . Wonder if there's time for the X Factor winners to re-record it in time for Christmas? Lets hope bastard bloody hope not. 'Black Mirror' is available on 4OD . [...]
Everybody knows that Ringo Starr left Rory Storm and The Hurricanes to replace Pete Best in The Beatles. This month, Ringo's replacement in the Hurricanes passed on at the age of 67. As a bandleader, Keef Hartley later played at Woodstock. He died on November 27. It is not very well known that boxing legend Joe Frazier , my favourite fighter of all time, was also a bit of a soul singer. Some of his stuff cashed in on his boxing background; the song featured here is a straight soul number, and it's pretty good. [...]
Music for music's sake. This is the message behind the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival , one of San Francisco's most anticipated musical events of the year. Funded by 77-year-old investment banker and music fanatic Warren Hellman, the event is free for the public and usually boasts around 750,000 people in attendance. This year was no different. With one of the most decorated and diverse lineups in the festival's history, including performances by Robert Plant and the Band of Joy , Bright Eyes , Broken Social Scene , and DeVotchka , this three-day assemblage [...]
This evening will most likely be the second most crowded on the fall series that is presented by the Second Harvesters Food Bank in downtown New Orleans (Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews plays next week). So get there early. Irma Thomas is still in fine voice after some forty years in the music business. Her show last year was well paced as she started the performance with newer material that was not as familiar as her classics like “Time Is On My Side.” But half way through the set [...]
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