Irma Thomas: At the Crossroads of blues and soul
It took a grandchild — indirectly, at least — to make Irma Thomas the Soul Queen of New Orleans.
The singer, who will share the bill Saturday in the “Blues at the Crossroads” show at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, got her official nickname four decades ago. Her family’s new bundle of joy seemed to call for a commemorative title for Thomas, and the drummer in her band came up with one.
“I had just become a grandmother back in 1975, and I was doing some shows, and he was the one who would introduce me,” Thomas said. “And so, rather than calling me the Singing Grandmother, they called me the Soul Queen.”
With Thomas’ website prominently sporting that catchphrase, her throne appears undisputed. When she joins a troupe of other musicians for the third “Blues at the Crossroads” tour, however, that “grandmother” status may come into play as well.
The New Orleans resident, who will turn 74 this month, is the elder stateswoman of the group, which also comprises singers Lee Fields and Alecia Chakour, guitarist Eric Krasno and the Dynamites. She’s far from the oldest performer in the history of the “Crossroads” tour, which has previously showcased such venerable stars as James Cotton, Jody Williams and David “Honeyboy” Edwards — believed to be the last surviving musician to play with 1930s blues icon Robert Johnson.
Thomas, though, is a veteran of a slightly more recent scene. Whereas the first two “Crossroads” tours highlighted songs associated with performers like Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, the third installment — subtitled “The Soul of the Blues” — shifts the focus to soul and R&B from the generations that followed the blues pioneers.
That means a playlist heavy on Sam and Dave, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, James Brown and other 1960s luminaries. Does that make the show bluesy soul, soulful blues or something in between? As far as tour producer Ron Hausfeld is concerned, the two genres will forever intertwine.
“I think they overlap,” he said. “That’s my personal opinion. I mean, I think they’re pretty well on top of each other.”
Overlap, as in collaboration, will be the attitude during the show as well, as Thomas, Fields and Chakour take turns on lead vocals while Krasno solos on guitar and the Dynamites provide accompaniment. As of last week, rehearsals had yet to begin, and Hausfeld said the playlist was still being determined.
One song that Thomas may perform is her most famous number — even if few listeners know to associate it with her. In 1964, the singer recorded a sultry cover of Jerry Ragovoy’s “Time Is On My Side,” a song that had previously been almost entirely instrumental. With help from lyricist Jimmy Norman, Thomas fleshed out the song and added a spoken midsection (“Go ahead and light up the town...”) that a British singer soon copied nearly verbatim.
The singer was Mick Jagger, and the Rolling Stones’ version of “Time,” which hewed closely to Thomas’ arrangement, became a massive hit. For Thomas, whose recording garnered far less airplay, that association became a source of grief.
“I was OK with it when they originally did it,” she said. “My problem was with the general audience who assumed that I was copying the Rolling Stones. So I quit singing the song. I wouldn’t do it.”
Still, she’s up to performing the song on “Crossroads” if the arrangement works with the band. Thomas is used to fronting her regular group of players — who, she said, have backed her for nearly 30 years.
Hausfeld, who organizes the tours with partner Jack Randall, said choosing the lineup each year amounts to “throwing names in the pot” and determining which ones are available. The first three “Crossroads” productions haven’t featured any names as big as B.B. King or Chuck Berry, and many of the featured players, such as Thomas, are more likely familiar to connoisseurs.
A tour of that nature might not rake in proceeds of Taylor Swift-ian proportions, but Hausfeld, who lives in Georgia, said money isn’t the point.
“We’ve always done it because we love it,” he said. “We’ve loved the styles we put shows out for. Our hearts are into it. And that’s the only reason we’ve done this project, was because Jack and I love the blues and we love soul music. That’s why we just keep doing the things we do.”
If You Go
What: “Blues at the Crossroads 3: The Soul of the Blues”
Where: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 7
Cost: Starts at $29
Information: (714) 556-2787 or https://www.scfta.org