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| Texas Piano Vol 1 1923 - 1935 £7.99 |
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| Hersal Thomas was born in Houston, Texas, and displayed an early talent for blues playing and composition. He was one of several musicians in his family. His brother George W. Thomas was also a skilled piano player, while his sister Sippie Wallace and niece Hociel Thomas were singers of note. Though he died at a young age, Thomas was nonetheless a strong influence on the Chicago boogie-woogie school of pianists. Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis both cited him as an influence. His most famous track is likely "Suitcase Blues" (8958-A Okeh 8227), which can be heard on this CD. The Thomas brothers also co-wrote "The Fives", which Ammons and Lewis cited as an essential boogie-woogie number. Thomas recorded under his own name, and as an accompanist to Hociel Thomas, Sippie Wallace, Lilian Miller and Sodarisa Miller. In 1926, he recorded a session with Hociel Thomas and Louis Armstrong. The songs recorded on that occasion were "Deep Water Blues" (9519-A Okeh 8297), "Lonesome Hours" (9522-A Okeh 8297), "Listen To Ma (9521-A Okeh 8346), and "G'wan, I Told You" (9520-A Okeh 8346). The first three are listed as having been composed by "Thomas", though it is not clear if this refers to Hersal or his brother. He also worked in session with King Oliver. Sippie Wallace recorded seven of his compositions: "A Jealous Woman Like Me", "A Man For Every Day Of The Week", "Dead Drunk Blues", "Have You Ever Been Down?", "I Feel Good", "Shorty George Blues" and "Trouble Everywhere I Roam". He died of food poisoning while working at Penny's Pleasure Inn in Detroit, Michigan. The circumstances of his death that have never been clarified. George Thomas was the pianist head of an important Texas blues clan which included his daughter Hociel Thomas, his siblings Beulah ‘Sippie’ Wallace and Hersal Thomas, plus Bernice Edwards, not a blood relative, but raised with the family. Thomas was an important composer (of New Orleans Hop Scop Blues and Muscle Shoals Blues among other tunes), and a publisher, for a time in partnership with Clarence Williams. Williams attributed the origin of the boogie woogie piano style to Thomas. Thomas was certainly among its earliest important exponents. "New Orleans Hop Scop Blues", published in 1916, is claimed to be the first twelve-bar blues to be written with a boogie-woogie bass line. With brother Hersal, he also copyrighted "The Fives" in 1921, a classic later performed by many pianists. On disc records, he made The Rocks in 1923 (credited as Clay Custer), a solo which contains the earliest recording of a walking bass, accompanied Sippie's friend Tiny Franklin, and made one record under his own name, and a few with his jazz group, the Muscle Shoals Devils | ||
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| Moanin` Bernice Edwards (with Ramblin` Thomas) More Titles? |
| George W Thomas More Titles? |
| Hersal Thomas More Titles? |
| Hociel Thomas More Titles? |
TRACK LIST
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