Willard "Ramblin'" Thomas (1901 or 1902 – 1944 or 1945)
was an American
country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter.
He is best remembered for his
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
playing and for several
recordings
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
he made in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Blues scholars seem undecided if his nickname referred to his style of playing or to his itinerant nature.
He was the brother of the blues musician
Jesse Thomas.
Biography
Thomas was born in
Logansport, Louisiana
Logansport is a town in western DeSoto Parish adjacent to the Sabine River in western Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 in 2020. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area.
History
The area, ...
, one of nine children in his family. His father played the
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
, and Willard and his brothers Joe L. and
Jesse learned to play the guitar, with Willard particularly practicing slide guitar techniques.
Thomas relocated to
Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas, in the late 1920s and was influenced by the playing of
Lonnie Johnson,
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929)Some sources indicate Jefferson was born on October 26, 1894. was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues sing ...
and
Blind Blake.
He performed in
San Antonio, Oklahoma and possibly
St. Louis, Missouri, in his subsequent travels.
He recorded in
Dallas and Chicago between 1928 and 1932, for
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Early years
Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...
and
Victor Records.
His playing is said to have influenced
Black Ace and
Robert Johnson.
Thomas reportedly died of
tuberculosis in 1944 or 1945 in
Memphis, Tennessee.
of his work have been released on CD by various record companies, including
Document Records, in addition to LPs previously issued by
Heritage,
Biograph, and Matchbox Records.
Discography
*''Ramblin' Mind Blues: Chicago Blues, 1928''
*''Complete Recorded Works 1928–1932 in Chronological Order'', Ramblin' Thomas and the Dallas Blues Singers,
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
(
Document, 1992)
His known recorded songs are the following:
*"So Lonesome"
*"Hard to Rule Woman Blues"
*"Lock and Key Blues"
*"Sawmill Moan"
*"No Baby Blues"
*"Ramblin' Mind Blues"
*"No Job Blues"
*"Back Gnawing Blues"
*"Jig Head Blues"
*"Hard Dallas Blues" (take 2)
*"Hard Dallas Blues" (take 4)
*"Ramblin' Man"
*"Poor Boy Blues"
*"Good Time Blues"
*"New Way of Living Blues"
*"Ground Hog Blues"
*"Shake It Gal"
*"Ground Hog Blues No. 2"
*"Little Old Mama Blues".
See also
*
List of country blues musicians
*
List of Texas blues musicians
Texas Blues is a subgenre of the blues, and of course is not limited to Texas-based musicians. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles. Texas blues differs from styles such as Ch ...
References
External links
Illustrated discography at Wirz.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ramblin
1900s births
1945 deaths
People from Logansport, Louisiana
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singers
Songwriters from Louisiana
Country blues musicians
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Blues musicians from Louisiana
Slide guitarists
Texas blues musicians
Paramount Records artists
20th-century American singers
20th-century American guitarists
Songwriters from Texas
Singers from Louisiana
Guitarists from Louisiana
Guitarists from Texas
20th-century American male singers
Tuberculosis deaths in Tennessee
American male songwriters