- Carla Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. Thomas is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.
Thomas is best known for the work she completed for both Atlantic Records and most notably, Stax Records in the 1960s. Her first record, "'Cause I Love You" (1960), was a duet with her father, with brother Marvell on keyboards, that was released by Satellite Records, which eventually became Stax Records.
Carla's biggest influence was her father, Rufus. Besides accompanying him during his 'MC' days at the Palace Theater, Rufus also encouraged and believed in his daughter's ability. He was also instrumental in setting the stage for her Teen Town Singers gig and for actively pursuing and promoting her breakthrough single, "Gee Whiz".- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bazza the Beast
- Parents
- Daughter of singer Rufus Thomas.
- Had several hit duets with soul legend Otis Redding.
- Graduated from Tennessee State University with a B.A. in English.
- Went to grad school at Howard University. Among her classmates were Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway and Harold Wheeler.
- Sister of Marvell Thomas, and Vaneese Y. Thomas.
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