Irma Thomas — NOLA Music

Never heard Irma Thomas before?

Irma Thomas has been called the Soul Queen of New Orleans for over sixty years, and one listen explains why. Born in Ponchatoula and raised on gospel, she came to New Orleans as a teenager and began cutting records for Minit and Imperial with producer Allen Toussaint — sides like “Time Is on My Side” (later covered by the Rolling Stones) that stand among the finest R&B ever recorded in the city. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home, she answered with After the Rain, which won the 2007 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. She still holds court regularly at her own club, the Lion’s Den, in Uptown New Orleans.

🎵 Signature Song

“Time Is on My Side” (1964)

🎬 Soul Landmark

“Ruler of My Heart” (1963)

👑 Grammy Winner

After the Rain (2006)

Her 1964 recording of “Time Is on My Side” predates the Rolling Stones’ version — and Otis Redding rewrote her “Ruler of My Heart” as “Pain in My Heart.” That’s the company her songbook keeps.

Why We Love Irma Thomas

It starts with the voice — a gospel-fired instrument that can devastate with a ballad and lift a room clean off its foundation with a groove. Thomas sings like someone who has lived every word, and after more than six decades of recording, the emotional intelligence in her phrasing has only deepened. There are singers with bigger ranges and louder records; there is nobody with more soul per note.

Then there’s the rootedness. Katrina took her home and her club, and she rebuilt both — then made one of the best records of her life about the aftermath. The Lion’s Den keeps her in the neighborhood, singing for the people who made her, not for nostalgia but because this is still her gig, her city, her music. Irma Thomas isn’t a legacy act. She’s the living definition of New Orleans soul, still working the room.

Biography

The Soul Queen of New Orleans

Irma Thomas was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana in 1941 and came to New Orleans as a young woman, where she began her recording career in the early 1960s. Her voice — a rich, powerful instrument capable of tremendous emotional range — immediately marked her as exceptional, and her recordings for Minit and Imperial Records became regional hits.

Her 1964 recording 'Time Is on My Side' — later covered by the Rolling Stones — demonstrated the quality of her artistry. Allen Toussaint produced many of her early recordings, and the partnership between his productions and her voice produced some of the finest R&B of the era.

"I sing what I know. I know New Orleans, and I know the blues."

— Irma Thomas

Thomas has maintained a remarkable career longevity, recording and performing for more than six decades. Her 2006 album After the Rain, recorded after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home and belongings, is a testament to resilience and remains one of her finest recordings. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

She owns and operates the Lion's Den club in Uptown New Orleans, where she performs regularly. A Grammy winner and a beloved figure in New Orleans, Irma Thomas is one of the essential voices in American music — a singer whose artistry has only deepened with time.