Carla Thomas

Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. Thomas is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.

Although Thomas released albums in the 1990s and in the 2000s, she is best known for the work she completed for both Atlantic Records and most notably, Stax Records in the 1960s. Her first record, "'Cause I Love You" (1960), was a duet with her father, with brother Marvell on keyboards, that was released by Satellite Records, which eventually became Stax Records. Recorded when Thomas was still attending Hamilton High School in Memphis, the record drew enough local attention to catch the interest of Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records.

He signed a deal with the owners of Satellite Records, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton, to distribute "Cause I Love You" and thus paved the way for Thomas’ most famous single, "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)", reaching number 10 on the pop chart and number 5 on the R&B chart. While she continued to have success on the R&B charts throughout the 1960s, her only other solo top 40 hit on the pop chart was "B-A-B-Y" (later covered by Rachel Sweet), reaching number 14 in 1966. Her duet, "Tramp," with Otis Redding reached number 26 on the pop chart the following year.and her album of duets with Otis Redding, King & Queen, was a number 18 hit in the UK Albums Chart.

After her last Stax recording in 1971, Love Means..., and an appearance in Wattstax in 1972, Thomas slipped into relative obscurity when compared to her 1960s musical heyday. However, she was featured in a number of modern-day projects, notably including a 1994 compilation of her greatest hits, a 2002 live recording of a Memphis performance and the 2007 release Live at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington, D.C., a long lost live recording of Thomas in 1967....(Read more)

Links to Peel
Peel included some of Carla's releases in his playlists when the Stax singles compilation was released in the early 90s, and was aware of the family connection: "Of course, when she calls him Daddy, she really means it on this record." Her Christmas song, which reused the 'gee whiz' expression, featured twice in 1992 (bizarrely, once in January).

Festive Fifty Entries

 * NoneRufus Thomas & Carla Thomas - When You Move You Lose

Sessions

 * None

Other Shows Played

 * 26 January 1992: 'Gee Whiz, It's Christmas (Compilation LP-The Complete Stax Volt Singles 1959-1968)' (Atlantic)
 * 28 August 1992: 'When You Move You Lose (CD-The Complete Stax Vaults Singles 1959-68 Vol 5)' (Atlantic) with Rufus Thomas
 * 17 October 1992: 'When You Move You Lose (Compilation CD-The Complete Stax Vaults Singles 1959-68 Vol 5)' (Atlantic) with Rufus Thomas (dedicated to Liverpool FC (who are going through a bad patch))
 * 24 December 1992: 'Gee Whiz, It's Christmas (Compilation CD-The Complete Stax Volt Singles 1959-1968)' (Atlantic)
 * Jerry Wexler: Soul Man: 'Cause I Love You'
 * Jerry Wexler: Soul Man: 'Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)'