A1 	Boogie Woogie Children 	
A2 	C. C. Rider 	
A3 	I'd Love To Tell 	
A4 	So Hard To Bear 	
A5 	Brother Brown 	
A6 	Tomorrow 	
A7 	Mmm I Don't Care 	
B1 	Playgirl 	
B2 	Keep On Trying 	
B3 	Roll On Mule 	
B4 	Too Late Blues 	
B5 	Popeye Train 	
B6 	My Baby's Got It 	
B7 	He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

A solid Louisiana vocalist who plays both guitar and piano, "Rockin'" Tabby Thomas has been cutting stirring recordings since the mid-'50s. He's teamed often with harmonica players Whispering Smith and Lazy Lester, and has done several sessions for Maison De Soul and various labels owned by Jay Miller.

Thomas was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but he began his musical career in San Francisco, which is where he was stationed while he was in the army. After he completed his time in the service, Thomas stayed in San Francisco, playing shows and talent contests. He happened to win a talent contest, which led to a record contract with Hollywood Records. Hollywood issued "Midnight Is Calling," which gained no attention, and the label dropped Thomas.

After the failure of "Midnight Is Calling," Tabby Thomas returned to Baton Rouge. He began playing local clubs with his supporting band the Mellow, Mellow Men. In 1953, the group recorded two songs -- "Thinking Blues" and "Church Members Ball" -- for the Delta label. After those songs didn't gain much attention, Thomas went through a number of record labels -- including Feature, Rocko, and Zynn -- before having a hit on Excello Records in 1962 with "Voodoo Party."

Thomas wasn't able to record a hit follow-up to "Voodoo Party" and by the end of the '60s, he retired from performing music. His retirement was short-lived -- in 1970, he founded his own record label, Blue Beat. In addition to releasing Thomas' own recordings, Blue Beat spotlighted emerging Baton Rouge talent. Within a few years, the label was very successful and Thomas began his own blues club, Tabby's Blues Box and Heritage Hall. By the mid-'80s, the club was the most popular blues joint in Baton Rouge.

Although he had become a successful businessman in the late '70s, Thomas continued to perform and record. All of his efforts -- from his recordings and concerts, to his label and nightclub -- made Tabby Thomas the leading figure of Baton Rouge's blues scene for nearly three decades. Thomas was still active into the new millennium, although he wasn't performing as frequently as he had in the past. He was seriously injured in an automobile accident in Baton Rouge in October 2002. ---Ron Wynn, Rovi

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1 	Never Get Rich In Bed 	
2 	Jerri Dean 	
3 	Louisiana Woman 	
4 	Honey Dripper 	
5 	I Love Big Fat Women 	
6 	Everybody's Key Fits My Baby's Door 	
7	Fortune Teller Blues 	
8 	Worthy Of Your Love 	
9 	I Can't Get Along With You 	
10 	Lord Please Have Mercy

Rockin' Tabby Thomas (vocals, guitar, piano)

Good, hard-rocking Louisiana blues with just a tinge of swamp from "Rockin'" Tabby Thomas. What he lacks in vocal range, he compensates for with exuberance. The backing band is no all-star unit, but they provide some solid grooves behind Thomas' surging leads. ---Ron Wynn, Rovi

Tabby Thomas was core to the Louisiana blues. As a guitarist, vocalist, composer, club owner, radio deejay, Rockin’ Tabby, the King of the Swamp Blues, put the state’s unique style of blues on the map. He sang it, he played it, he promoted it and influenced a wide range of blues players including his Grammy-winning son, Chris Thomas King and others such as Tab Benoit and Troy Turner. Thomas died on the first day of January 2014 at the age of 84.

Thomas’ life and musical experiences were far-ranging though his birthplace of Baton Rouge, Louisiana remained central to his life and music. It was there that he began singing in church, it was at McKinley High School that he first heard his most influential artist, Roy Brown, doing his jump blues hit, “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” Thomas returned to his hometown after traveling to Chicago, joining the Air Force and while residing in California beating out now-legendary vocalists Etta James and Johnny Mathis in a talent contest and soon thereafter recorded his first single, “Midnight Is Calling.”

Rockin’ Tabby Thomas opened Tabby’s Blues Box and Heritage Hall in 1979 on North Boulevard in Baton Rouge. It was the first establishment of its kind in the area. --- newamericamedia.org

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

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