Birth name Louis Thomas Watts Name Kid Thomas Instruments Vocals, harmonica Role Musician | Years active 1950–1969 Record label Federal Records Associated acts Hound Dog Taylor | |
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Also known as Tommy Louis, Tommy Lewis Born June 20, 1934
Sturgis, Mississippi, United States ( 1934-06-20 ) Labels Federal, Transcontinental, Muriel Died April 5, 1970, Beverly Hills, California, United States Albums Here's My Story, Rockin' This Joint Tonite With..., Kid Thomas Genres Blues, Rhythm and blues, Rock music, Rock and roll Similar People Jerry McCain, George Guesnon, Sammy Rimington, Big Bill Bissonnette, George Lewis | ||
Kid thomas boogie woogie new orleans jazz hounds
Louis Thomas Watts, commonly known as Kid Thomas (20 June 1934 - 5 April 1970) was an American musician, who created music in the rock, rock & roll and blues genres.
Contents
- Kid thomas boogie woogie new orleans jazz hounds
- Kid thomas valentine s creole jazz band panama
- Life and career
- References
Kid thomas valentine s creole jazz band panama
Life and career
Kid Thomas was born in Sturgis, Mississippi. As a child he moved to Chicago, Illinois and learned the harmonica. While he later switched to rock and roll, he initially played blues. By the early 1950s, he played regularly with Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Bo Diddley, and as a solo performer. In 1955 he recorded his first single, "Wolf Pack", for Federal Records. However, it was not successful, and other recordings he made for Federal went unissued for many years.
After a stint performing in clubs in Wichita, Kansas, where he joined up with Hound Dog Taylor, he travelled to Los Angeles with the idea of emulating the success of Little Richard. There, he met record producer George Motola, and in 1959 recorded the single "Rockin' This Joint To-Nite," which was released on Motola's Transcontinental label. The record has been described as "one of the wildest rock'n'roll discs of all time with Kid Thomas blowing his harmonica and shouting out the lyrics in a frantic frenzy." However, it was not a commercial success. He continued to perform with a band in Los Angeles clubs, often as Tommy Louis and the Rythm (sic) Rockers or Tommy Louis and the Versatiles. In 1965 he recorded two singles for the Muriel label, "The Hurt Is On" and "Wail Baby Wail", another full-blooded rocker featuring guitar by Marshall Hooks, but neither were hits. His final record, as Tommy Lewis, was "(You Are An) Angel", on the Cenco label in 1969.
Finding little commercial success, Kid Thomas worked as a lawn mowing man in Los Angeles in the latter half of the 1960s. On September 3, 1969, while driving his truck he struck a young boy and killed him. Arrested on a charge of manslaughter, the charge was later dismissed for lack of evidence. However, the boy's father waited outside the courthouse and shot him. Kid Thomas died at UCLA Medical Center, Beverly Hills on April 5, 1970.
He is not to be confused with the New Orleans jazz trumpet player Kid Thomas Valentine.