Born Louis Thomas Watts on June 20, 1934, in Sturgis, Mississippi Kid Thomas is not the same person as Kid Thomas Valentine, famous jazz musician from New Orleans.
From the mid 40's to mid 50's Kid blew his harp for numerous Chicago R'n'B artists like Elmore James & Muddy Waters.
In 1960, Modern Records' A&R man George Mottola produced his single on Brad Atwood's TRC-Transcontinental label . "Rockin' This Joint Tonite". Kid plays his harmonica like a saxophone and howls like a madman! The record itself was even a tiny success in Chicago, although TRC Records folded right after its release.
Making a decent living as a musician was hard and Thomas ended up living in Beverly Hills and he was working as a lawn mowin' man then tragedy struck. He owned a pick-up, that he used in his work. During September 1969, a 10-year old boy was riding his bicycle, when he was struck by a van driven by Thomas, and died. Thomas got arrested and charged with manslaughter. Finally the homicide case was dismissed because of insufficient evidence, but he was due back in court regarding a related driving offence. Outside the courthouse waited the dead boy's father, who pulled out a gun and shot him down. Kid Thomas, 36, died almost immediately on April 5, 1970. This track can be found on the Norton Records EP (Norton 110) or on the Official CD from 1995 titled 'More Wild and Frantic Black Shouters'.
Kid Thomas - Rockin' This Joint Tonite
From the mid 40's to mid 50's Kid blew his harp for numerous Chicago R'n'B artists like Elmore James & Muddy Waters.
In 1960, Modern Records' A&R man George Mottola produced his single on Brad Atwood's TRC-Transcontinental label . "Rockin' This Joint Tonite". Kid plays his harmonica like a saxophone and howls like a madman! The record itself was even a tiny success in Chicago, although TRC Records folded right after its release.
Making a decent living as a musician was hard and Thomas ended up living in Beverly Hills and he was working as a lawn mowin' man then tragedy struck. He owned a pick-up, that he used in his work. During September 1969, a 10-year old boy was riding his bicycle, when he was struck by a van driven by Thomas, and died. Thomas got arrested and charged with manslaughter. Finally the homicide case was dismissed because of insufficient evidence, but he was due back in court regarding a related driving offence. Outside the courthouse waited the dead boy's father, who pulled out a gun and shot him down. Kid Thomas, 36, died almost immediately on April 5, 1970. This track can be found on the Norton Records EP (Norton 110) or on the Official CD from 1995 titled 'More Wild and Frantic Black Shouters'.
No comments:
Post a Comment