Featured In
ALBUMDance with MeCarla Thomas
Albums by Carla Thomas
ALBUMSativahCarla Thomas
ALBUMLive: 1989 Memphis Music & Heritage FestivalCarla Thomas
ALBUMHow Can We LoseCarla Thomas & Rufus Thomas
ALBUMHidden GemsCarla Thomas
ALBUMLove MeansCarla Thomas
ALBUMMemphis QueenCarla Thomas
ALBUMThe Queen Alone (Expanded Reissue)Carla Thomas
ALBUMKing & QueenOtis Redding & Carla Thomas
ALBUMCarlaCarla Thomas
ALBUMCarla (Mono)Carla Thomas
Artist Playlists
Carla Thomas Essentials
The scion of Southern R&B royalty, she recorded numerous essential ‘60s soul sides.
Artist Biography
Carla Thomas is an American soul and R&B singer known as “The Queen of Memphis Soul.”
∙ The daughter of Memphis radio personality and recording artist Rufus Thomas, she started performing at age 10 as a member of the Teen Town Singers.
∙ Thomas made her recording debut in 1960 with “Cause I Love You,” a duet with her father, Rufus.
∙ “Gee Whiz,” her breakthrough hit, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 and helped put the fledgling Stax Records on the map.
∙ In 1967, Thomas and Otis Redding recorded the duets record King & Queen, which hit No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Albums chart and received a Grammy nomination.
∙ Thomas was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
∙ Her 1966 smash “B-A-B-Y” was featured prominently on the soundtrack of the 2017 film Baby Driver.
Hometown
Memphis, TN, United States
Genre
R&B/Soul