Irma Thomas' extraordinary musical talent sparkles and shines as brilliantly as Mardi Gras. She's a woman equal to her times--bright, immensely talented, beautiful, and above all, a winner! Nobody would have predicted Thomas' success. At 14 she was pregnant and had to leave school. At 15 she was working odd jobs around New Orleans, mainly washing dishes in local restaurants. In 1958, Irma Thomas traded a job as a waitress for a career as a soul diva. One night she put down her tray and jumped on stage, and was fired as a waitress and hired as a singer.

"It wasn't my lifelong ambition to be in show business, but as a young parent I didn't have much choice. I had a talent that I could make a living with, which was fortunate," says Thomas. At 17 she pressed her first record, "You Can Have My Husband (But Please Don't Mess With My Man)," a song that immediately became a hit. As a teenager with a hit song, she made $50.00 a night while her peers were pulling in thousands. Thomas made the Top 40 with a song called "Time Is On My Side."

For the next five years, gamblers would have killed for her luck. Almost every song she recorded made the charts. In 1964, the 23-year-old singer's "Wish Someone Would Care" was No. 17 on Billboard's Top 100. The sky seemed the limit for this versatile young singer and performances included pop, soul, jump and straight-out rock 'n roll styles.

Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast region in 1969 and erased many of Thomas' bookings, and the following year she left New Orleans and moved to Los Angeles--but found it difficult to continue her career there because she was not a regular in local music business cliques. Thomas moved to San Francisco in 1972 and found the Bay Area performing climate more congenial. Single mother Irma worked in Montgomery Ward's lingerie and automotive departments to support her four children while singing in area clubs on weekends.

Back in New Orleans since 1976, Irma has become increasingly popular and successful. Steady work, local recordings, stellar performances at the Jazz & Heritage Festival, and a sweet, stormy voice that's improved with time have earned her the appellation The Soul Queen of New Orleans. In her native Crescent City, she is considered, with Fats Domino, to have the most diverse group of fans--transcending class, color, and age barriers. Fans agree that Irma is a peer of the greatest rhythm & blues singers, and not an imitator. Her voice is big and saucy, subtle and sensual as she delivers the classic soul sound she helped make famous--enhanced with more contemporary touches.

Local TV and radio commercials and endorsements have featured the singer's familiar face and voice. A favorite for public service announcements, Irma has been a tireless worker for varied worthy causes. Chief among them are teen pregnancy and children's needs and charities. Thomas has countless awards and honors from local, state and regional concerns, and was recipient of an award from the Institute for Human Understanding as a culmination of her varied efforts to assist and promote the causes of her New Orleans.

Thomas was the headliner at the opening of Harrah's Casino, New Orleans first land-based casino. She has since performed at the Players in Lake Charles, Lady Luck in Natchez, Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, and the President Casino, also on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Irma was nominated for a Grammy in 1991, the same year in which she was given the Rhythm & Blues Foundation award (won in the past by Ester Philips, Clarence Carter, Jerry Butler, Ben E. King and others.) Thomas was the W.C. Handy Soul & Blues Female Vocalist of the Year in 1995 and 1997.

Recently Irma toured Europe with the American Rhythm & Soul Festival, which included performances in East Berlin. Another recent memorable tour was to Japan, with rousing performances in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Irma garnered so much attention in Japan that her albums from the late '60s were repressed and reissued.

Today, stronger, more beautiful, and a more accomplished artist than ever before, Irma is every inch a superstar. Magnificently supported by her husband and manager, Emile Jackson, she has finally put it all together. Her singing exhibits a passion and depth of understanding reserved for those towering artists from all disciplines whose talents must grow to maturity in spite of the harshness of life's cruelest storms. Her rapport with audiences is stronger than it ever was. And her compelling presence and masterful artistry have the power to lift and inspire as never before.

4/98