The search for Lafayette "Thing" Thomas

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Lafayette 'Thing' Thomas
Born
Jun 13, 1928 in Shreveport, LA
Died
May 20, 1977 in Brisbane, CA
(total bio of Lafayette Thomas in All Music Guide).

I've seen his name on many tunes by others. He's on the Chess lablel back in the 60s. on a CD called "Chess Blues Guitar: Twenty years of killer fretwork, 1949-1969."


He worked for Jimmy McCracklin the 1950s and 60s. All Music Guide: "... by 1951, Lafayette "Thing" Thomas was installed as the searing guitarist with McCracklin's Blues Blasters and remained invaluable to the pianist into the early '60s."
Unfortunately, this guitarist is Robert Kelton.
This (Ace Records) one has two songs fronted by "Jerry" Thomas:

He's the guitar player on this Little Brother Montgomery Lp from 1960.



He's on a third of a 60s World Pacific (?) LP called "Oakland Blues". I've only seen a bad photo of the cover on eBay.

Bob Geddins made a bunch of singles with him. I've now found the CDs "West Coast Guitar Killers, Vols. 1 & 2." They have several of his singles on them.

I've never seen his picture for sure--he might be in the background of a McCracklin photo I've seen. But really, there's no picture of Lafayette 'Thing' Thomas. I don't know if the picture on the McCracklin CD is Thomas or Robert Kelton.

Al Jansen on Post War Blues-L writes: Rolf/ Bert, The Lafayette Thomas interview (by Tom Mazzolino) is in LB # 33. July/August 1977. It has (only) one picture of Lafayette, a picture by Paul Kohl.

Bert van Oortmarsen emailed me two jpegs of the Living Blues #33 photo and article. Soon to come as soon as I figure out the best way.

Stefan Wirz on Post War Blues-L writes:The Living Blues picture's also in Blues Who's Who, page 509.

Alan Balfour on Post War Blues-L writes:
Performing a "find" on my electronic copy of Blues Records 1943-70 throws up
the following instances of Lafayette Thomas in the role of accompanist:

Zuzu Bollin,
Juke Boy Bonner,
Bob Geddins,
Roy Hawkins,
Jimmy McCracklin,
Memphis Slim,
Roland Mitchell,
Little Brother Montgomery,
Muddy Waters,
Johnny Parker,
James Reed,
A.C. Robinson,
Jimmy Wilson

From the Used Bin 5

There was twenty bucks in my pocket as I drove west on Silva Street from a friends house. The street ended right across from The Last Record Store. It pulled me like a magnet.

The used blues racks were stocked with about as good a selection as I've seen (I'll be back). With twenty bucks I had two picks. No, I don't know why anyone would sell these.



I fed my ever developing interest in California's hidden blues history with this one which I've wanted for years ever since I couldn't afford it in the late 60s. Most blues fans have heard "One Room Country Shack" (usually in Buddy Guy's version), this is the guy who wrote it, Mercy Dee Walton. He recorded it first in 1949, and I'll get that one of these days. This is his great 1961 record, with classic piano by one of the great itinerant piano perfessers. Mercy Dee travelled the great agricultural roads of California's Central Valley for years playing the jukes and honky-tonks for for the black, okie, and mexican farmworkers. With him are the fine harmonica player Sidney Maiden and drummer Otis Cherry, both Central Valley regulars. It's fantastic in its combination of downhome feel and piano technique. It's just so blues.



I've owned this for years as an LP, and I resist buying CDs when I already have the LP, but this is one of the greatest blues records ever made. Magic Sam made only two studio records before his death at the age of 32, this is one of them ("Black Magic" is the other). Most guitarists know at least a couple of tunes from this record, it sets so much style for so many. An incredible band too. "I Found A New Love" and "Every Night And Every Day" and "I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie)" are still played all the time. A master class on playing guitar and singing the blues.

Hacker and Hanck--Double Trouble on the Berkeley line

Last minute change in the roadtrip: add Ron Hacker at the Ashkenaz dance hall for his first set then to the Ivy Room for the main event: Terry Hanck and his fine band. Four of us flew down the freeway to the Berkeley-Albany line. First stop the ancient Ashkenaz dance hall with its old weathered wood walls, exposed wood truss roof, big wooden dance floor, and notoriously muddy sound. As we entered and paid the $13 door charge I saw the place was nearly empty.

Ron Hacker and the Hacksaws were soon on stage doing their very old time bottleneck blues with the twist that AJ’s modern funk bass gives them. AJ (Artis Joyce) plays both bass and effectively rhythm guitar with them. The first set was mostly medium dance tunes like "Red Cross Store" and "Keep You Hands Off Her." AJ’s bass and Ronnie Smith’s drums were much clearer than Ron’s guitar as the hall’s acoustics sucked the life out of Ron’s amp.

At the break I had a chance to talk to Ron. "They wanted us back here after the Birthday Party we had here. I told them it was a bad idea, not the right place, but they wanted us." He shook his head.

Opening the second set Ron played solo bottleneck guitar on his old National steel guitar. The fine old Sleepy John Estes tune "Brownsville Blues" was nice.

If you goin' down to Brownsville
take that right hand road
If you goin' down to Brownsville
take that right hand road
Lord I ain't gonna stop walkin'
'Till I find sweet mama's door

The girl that I love
She got long black curly hair
Well that girl that I’m lovin’
She got long black curly hair
Her Mama 'n her Papa
Sure don't want me standing there

I quietly sang the words along with Ron. AJ sitting next to me said, "You know the words to that? I never have learned them right." AJ as he got up to go on stage got off a line, "The music business is filled with thieves, pimps, and hustlers trying to screw you out of money -and those are the good people!"

Out on the street I talked with guitarist John Graham (Birdlegg, Motordude Zydeco, others). We both noted that the sound out on the sidewalk was better than inside. "I’ve played here so many times and it’s never very different. When David Nadel was still alive and running the place he used to have a soundmeter that cut off the electricity to your amps if it got so loud. We’d be playing and the electricity would cut off right in the song. Once Billy Wilson was just talking into the mic and the PA went off. I wish Ashkenaz charged less and the Ivy Room charged more."

[Later at the Ivy Room break I got to talk with talk with Fatdog (Subway Guitars. He told me lots of people seemed to be staying away from the Ashkenaz in protest of the actions of the Board of Directors running the place since David Nadel passed away.]


Mo, dancing right in the throw pattern of Ron’s amp, kept extending the time we were to spend at Ashkenaz. We were sympathetic, but we’d come for Hanck. Piling into the van we made the six-block transition into a nearly full Ivy Room parking lot. The sound was bouncing off the plate glass windows of the shops across the street as we rounded the corner into the sidewalk in front of the Ivy Room. People were dancing on the sidewalk! The sound coming out of the Ivy Room’s well known Dutch door was fabulous and we hurried inside.
Fate was good to us, both Johnny Cat, regular guitarist for Terry Hanck, AND former guitarist Chris "Kid" Andersen were on guitar, and the excellent Tyler Ng was sitting in for Butch Cousins on drums. Wow, what a band! Terry was in solid form singing well and honking the Tenor Sax like nobody’s business.



Johnny and Kid were having a ball and in friendly competition on hot and zinger guitar licks and laughing. Terry had the pleased look of a circus ringmaster.

"You’re all over town
wherever there’s a band
you stop at any table
where’s there’s a bottle and a man.
You from club to club
You from bar to bar
And man to man
You from car to car.


I’m gonna send you back
To that one horse town
Too many bright lights
You just pulling me down
You wearing your wig hat
And you doing me wrong
Go on back to that one horse town
Back where you belong

Johnny and Kid went nuts with this trading crazy licks and topping each other. The crowd was in frenzied and dancing like mad. Those not dancing were riveted on the band. It doesn’t get much better.
Kid Andersen, the Norwegian flash

Hot tune after hot tune with great solos and irresistible dance rhythms had most everybody out on the floor. Sitting gave time to watch a band completely on its game. Dee nest to me was dancing on her stool. Ann tried to sit some but would get on the floor as if drawn there. Mo never even came off the floor once. Tyler Ng on the drums in back was smiling and laughing. Kid Andersen began to caper in the postage stamp size area he was in. Johnny Cat was grinning. And always the rhythm and drive was overwhelming.

Slow numbers were achingly good with tons of swing and feel. Terry is one guy who can do justice to Tyrone Davis. He makes those songs ache.

"Aww, she didn't bat an eye
As I packed my bags to leave
I thought she would start to cry
Or sit around my room and grieve
But y'all, the girl, she fooled me this time
She acted like I was the last thing on her mind
I would like to start all over again

Baby, can I change my mind
I just wanna change my mind
Baby, let me change my mind
As I took those steps
Toward that open door
Knowing all the time
Oh, Lord, I just didn't wanna go
But she didn't give me no sign
Nothing that would make me change my mind
I would like to start all over again."

Honking solos by Terry would climb into the stratosphere and the saxophone shriek would punctuate the cutting edge of the solo. Terry would sing a verse and then call "OK Johnny" and a hot solo would drive us. Another verse and then "Git it Kid" would give us another wild solo. And all the while the rhythm guitar would be rock solid and Fly Brooks’ bass would keep the bottom with extra sudden fast fills. Fly was looking as animated as I’ve seen him, swinging his bass, and moving around.

At the Break I got to talk with lots of people. Everybody was going for a big serving of Hanck and double guitar. The break was a good one for talking, lots of blues friends and a happy crowd.


The last set was Blues about as good as it gets in a club. Driving and infectious, with James Brown and Junior Walker tunes played the Hanck Way, and instrumental work hotter than a pistol. Younger patrons who might not have seen something like this seemed entranced, totally focussed on the band. Blues regulars were out on the floor for almost every song. It was a "I’m so glad I went" night. At the end the band didn’t even consider not doing an encore. The crowd mostly went up to the bandstand to shake hands with the band. This was one of the good nights where the band has too much fun. Terry’s new CD is due out at the end of June ’05.

Steve Freund at The Ivy Room, Albany, CA; 5/31/05

"This is one of those trips that just happen." "I wouldn’t have gone if you hadn’t." "I brought along Little Johnny Taylor." "I needed to get out." "I worked hard today." "I’m gonna be a wreck working tomorrow." "I need some blues." "Ya know, I shouldn’t have gone out tonight, but I want some guitar." "Wonder who’ll be there tonight."

So over Sonoma’s golden rolling hills in the fading dusk and down into central suburban Marin Co. to San Pablo Straight and the Richmond Bridge. Then the fast ride through the Richmond Bayside warehouses and oil depots to the Albany flats and The Ivy Room in all its pre-world-war Buster Keaton friendly dumpiness.

Little Johnny Taylor with the great unknown Arthur Wright wailing on guitar, was on the van’s CD player and turned up loud for the really good ones.

"I'm gonna find me, lord I've got to find me a part time love
I've got to find me; I've got to find me a part time love
The next time, the next time my baby leaves me

That's why, that's why I've got to find me, Lord I've go to find me a part time love
The next time, the next time, the next time my baby leave me,
Can't you see I got to have me a part time love."

"He testifies! Man, what a voice!" "Sure can hear the Church." "Voice like that’s a gift from God."



In the excitement of a hot turn over Little Johnny calls out, "There's one other thing I wanna tell you right here:" and the band drops down into a steady horn vamp—And Little Johnny testifies!

"People in the cemetery, them ain’t all alone
Some turn to dust, and some have bone
I'd rather be dead, six feet in my grave
Than to live lonely, each and every day
She came home this morning; I asked her where had she been?
She said don't ask me no questions Daddy, ‘cause I'll be leaving again."

Usually we stop at Happy Donuts after an Ivy Room show, but having had a fast trip and time to kill we got coffee. For some reason the donut shops of the Bay Area are mostly run by Cambodians, usually pretty interesting people. We saw this was true early and the odd customers who drift in off San Pablo Ave. were already there. Good coffee.

Arriving in the Ivy Room parking lot we found it empty. "Huhh, a real hot night, yessir." Having several minutes to kill we hung in the parking lot. The sodium vapor lights hinted at water vapor in the air with their glare and the view across San Pablo Ave. at the old brick storefronts was slightly surreal. Mo and I started laughing. "Our weirdest one yet, there’s no one here."



With the sound of the music we went in. It really was empty, with only a few regulars. On stage was Robi Bean on drums, Scott Brenton on guitar, Burton Wynn on his first gig out of the hospital on bass, and Steve Freund on guitar. Steve had his gold top Les Paul strapped on and was pushing out powerful licks. I was glad to see the gold top; he always really gets into heavy guitar with it.

Inside every musician lives the music hero wanting to get out. Guitar players are particularly bad, we all want to be ‘guit-tar hero’, the dream lives! You saxophone and piano players out there tut-tuting hush up, y’all got it just as bad. "As the crowd goes wild! Amaze your friends! Get girls!"

I didn’t take any notes; I was there for some strong guitar playing. I got it. Steve having few in the house and none of the musicians lined up to guest on stage redialed his amp and set it on ‘stun.’ Steve looked right at Mo and me, knowing us by sight, shrugged his strap more comfortably, and played for us and for the house. Hot song after song with great leads leapt out of his amp; every song was a solo. Classics like "Hideaway" were jumped on with gusto rather than the weak feeling of old chestnuts.

The bad orange light bulbs and dark shadows hide the varnished plywood décor of the Ivy Room, with one orange bulb hanging down on a cord over the musicians. This makes cool reflections off the musicians and the instruments.



Steve began to play harder and harder and turned up his amp at least twice resulting in a hunted look by the back line. Steve began to prance from leg to the other as he got into his solos. Songs from all over came at us with a ton of guitar. Great log solos they were too. With no guests to think about Steve became Guitar Hero (visualizing the cape became no problem at all) and his body language became animated as steady Scot Brenton watched him while playing rock steady rhythm on his big 335. Scot’s occasional solos were woody-toned and sonorous. Words don’t carry solos of increasing emotion and expression; Steve was released and in charge and he was going for it.

In the second set he switched to a Elitist Les Paul which had a harder, fiery sound good for lots of screaming licks and moving diads up and down the fingerboard. The solos became even more wild and Steve was really rocking back and forth as he became more animated. Strings were getting bent hard and the upper part of the fingerboard getting a workout.

Well into the second set Steve at the end of a hot song breathed deep, looked up and called up Pierre LeCorre of the Dave Matthews Blues Band for a couple of numbers. Poker-faced Pierre played Steve’s guitar while Steve sang. Pierre seemed to have fun on rhythm and with his solos and sounded good.

As Steve became even more animated in the last part of the set and his body language as he played became very energetic and almost abandoned. He was truly excited in the most natural way in total guitar release.

My body language was the opposite as the recent long days caught up with me and I began to fade. We were both out on our feet and it was time to go. In an off weekday night we had one of those shows blues hounds talk about, the unexpected and hot show in a semi-empty house. A show played for the sake of the blues and for the love of playing, for the guitar player inside.

Black Diamond Blues Festival, 5/29/05

Full Road Trip! We’d been discussing this for a bout two weeks among the roadtrip gang; we’d had a good time at the old Black Diamond Festival held in the summer, before the City of Pittsburg (CA) killed it for some reason. Now it was back, scheduled on Memorial Weekend. Mo sent out the email almost a week in advance. As is the usual case, the men mostly couldn’t get it together and the women could. The blues van headed down Hwy 101 and the Lakeville cutoff with Terri, Ann, Chris, Lis, Dee, Mo, -and little old me surrounded by pretty women.

Arriving early just as the ticket booths were getting together, we set up right in the road about 25 feet out from the stage. There weren’t many people there on a breezy fresh day sharp with sunlight. Behind us people came in including other Bay Area blues friends. Having time we went in search of coffee in the surrounding historical downtown of Pittsburg (Thank goodness they saved it from redevelopment) and found a great old time Mexican Restaurant with a tin ceiling that had good coffee.

We returned to the sound of guitar tuning and balancing. Avotcja, blues and jazz DJ on KPFA and KPOO (Avotcja is very dear to me, as I used to listen to her program while doing the endless reading and writing of Law School) was the Master of Ceremonies. This turned out to be a double blessing as the hyper little dude in the flash suit who used to drive everybody crazy was back, and as usual getting every name and fact wrong as he nattered away.

First up was Guitar Mac as a solo doing slide guitar. Mac wasn’t on the program and they started him at 11:30. Mac played slide guitar on several well-known tunes and it became clear he’s a standard tuning guitarist who’s not really comfortable on slide. He mostly strummed and when he wanted single note leads he’d fret them with his fingers instead of the slide.

Slide guitar playing has a different technique than standard tuning playing. Guitar Mac has learned a few licks but it was evident he hadn’t learned the heavy bass technique or melodic playing of Charley Patton, Willie Brown, or Son House. Since his guitar was turned up loud and the early sound mix was harsh, the guitar drowned out Mac’s excellent tenor-baritone voice. Hearing his CD done with a band is a whole lot more satisfying. The early sound mix worked against him.

The Sound check followed Guitar Mac and they began to get some mids and bass into the mix. We would shortly find the sound crew had gotten so much bass into the mix that it was almost painful to be in the direct path of the bass speakers.

The true opening act was Ron Joseph and the Steppin’ Stones, featuring Dwayne Thompson on vocals. Dwayne Thompson is a powerful tenor vocalist who can do blues, soul, and obviously has big gospel roots. What a fantastic singer! He can do romantic love ballads and raunchy blues with equal ease. Being from Sonoma County I hadn’t heard him before and I’ll be watching for his name and huge voice again. The Stepping Stones Band also has a fine guitarist with a waspish sound and nice licks. The whole band has some fine funk rhythm to it.

Next up was the Caravan of Allstars in one of their backing incarnations, this time behind Pork Pie Phillips. They began to warm up the still arriving crowd and had fun with Carl’s songs.

Then the Allstars backed up Teddy "Bluesmaster" Watson who was one of the hits of the show. After delivering a song on stage as the foxy grandpa with a cane, he went down the stairs with a cordless mic and threw the cane away and proceeded to sing songs up close to the ladies and wowing the crowd while doing the bump and grind. Bi-ig showmanship. His tune coming to an end he bowed for the applause—and then whipped around and shouted to the band on stage, "B flat—from the five!" and gave us a whole lot more. The band on stage were knocked out and laughing as a wily old veteran stole the show.

Layce Baker and the original Black Diamond Band started quietly and showed deep blues feel and power. Both Layce and second guitarist Louis Jones showed they could really play the blues. Searing licks were the power of this band and I want to see them in a much longer show. Expression was their powerful game on this too-short set. They have a whole lot of guitar with feeling. This the original band that Layce started with, not the one he regularly appears with in bar gigs.

Another big surprise was in store for me when Avotcja introduced Billy Dunn as "One of those guys from Russell City who just went about the business of music." Billy Dunn has one of those warm sophisticated voices and plays a whole lot of piano. He did some mildly double-entendre lyrics and showed a lot of the jazzy blues quality of early fifties blues/R&B. Billy should be out there with a small combo doing Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris, and Percy Mayfield type material. I don’t understand why he doesn’t have a regular hotel lounge gig; he’s that warm, personable, and good.

Next up was Layce Baker with his touring band with a remarkable appearance by a 12-year-old guitar prodigy.
Layce with his tour band puts on a more flash show with more funk sounds and flashy licks. Playing with him was Gabriel _________, a remarkable 12 year old that plays with a combination of old time economy and Jimi Hendrix licks. This was an all too short set.

We’d noticed the "Hat" man with the sharp brim and the ultra sharp hatband. Terri had been there the day before and had gone with Big Dave Z to get a hat. She knew who the hat man was and said," C’mon, you gotta go see the hat man and get a hat." So at the break we walked into the old downtown again and went to the now open espresso café—which is also a hat store in the back. The hat man has brims! The kind that blues guys like, both dress and straw. Terri bought one for her son’s birthday. A flash porkpie hat. The hat man sprays all hats with water repellant, and you get a free satin pocket hankie too.

And he’s got ladies hats with real wedding, funeral, and royal coronation flash like blues ladies like. Chris couldn’t quite get herself to buy the one that made her look like the Duchess of Argyle. I got myself a wide brim straw fedora with a braided band for the coming summer. Nice feather.


Then it was Alvon time with the non-stop Alvon commentary on the state of the world, love, and why in the world weren’t we all up front dancing? Alvon never stops and is a ball of fire both vocally and on the guitar. We sat and watched the whole thing for a while just because it’s Alvon, life, love, and Alvon. It was a crazy fun time and we finally got out there to dance. Alvon said, "You just dancing now? Now that my set is almost over? You gotta do something with your life!" I’m ready for more crazy Alvon and the fabulous Alvon voice and hot guitar real soon. If he’d been appearing anywhere near us that night we would have gone.

The Caravan of Allstars came back on and it was Little Junior time. Junior was decked in a cream chartreuse suit the shade of the first 1950s "designer" Kelvinator refrigerators, along with matching gold jewelry, hair, socks, shoes, and gloves with gold rings outside the gloves. He probably forgot the matching spats at home. After about three soul songs filled with gestures and attitude he was off.

And as the sun began to think about going down it was Chick Willis time. Chick proved to be one hot guitarist and a lot of fun. Chick being the writer and creator of the whole "Stoop Down Baby" thing (he sold a couple of million copies without it ever getting on the radio) had some songs about S-E-X to do and he did ‘em right.

Starting on stage and looking over the ladies dancing he did a fine funny "Let Me Play With Your Poodle." Lis, who’d been dancing up a storm, was out in front of the stage working through her steps. Chick announced that he was looking for poodle girls to sing to. He checked the front row, saw Lis, and said, "Ahh!" Lis became the first Poodle Girl of the night. Chick walked the crowd using a wireless rig and really hitting some fine hot licks. His show was a lot of fun, and there were several "Poodle Girls", all of who seemed to get the same pleased bashful smile.

Chick’s finale was naturally, "Stoop Down Baby (let your Daddy see!)" his underground hit of the very early 70s. The ladies streamed out of their chairs to dance. We weren’t disappointed either, the band was hot (Bobby Webb on tenor sax) and the congas and drums were going full blast. The dancing got really heavy right about then.

As dusk came on the Caravan backed Wylie Trass on a set of fine jump blues, and then it Willie G. time and Willie was really feeling on and performing all over the place. Willie is one guy that’s gotta move around when he sings. And move he did—right out into the crowd. You don’t miss anything since he’s about six foot two and wears a ten-gallon hat. He sang a mix of blues and jump tunes that was a lot of fun. Love can be tough on a man. This was a fine closer for the show, we were all in the glow of a good festival and the band was smooth. The crowd was mostly still there and with the last announcement everybody packed up and left at about 7:00. The City of Pittsburg should be proud of this festival; it’s a good one.