Timmy Thomas
Encyclopedia
Timmy Thomas is an American
R&B
singer, keyboardist
, songwriter
and record producer
, best known for the hit
song
, "Why Can't We Live Together
".
and Cannonball Adderley, before working as a session musician
in Memphis
, Tennessee
, and releasing singles
on the Goldwax Records label
. He had little solo
success until he moved to Glades Records in Miami
, Florida
, and in late 1972 he released "Why Can't We Live Together". The record
topped the U.S.
Billboard
R&B
chart
, made the top three in the Billboard Hot 100
, and Top Ten in many other countries including the UK
. The track peaked at #12 in the UK Singles Chart
. This disc
sold over two million copies.
He was earlier part of a group called Phillip & The Faithfuls, which also included the singer Phillip Reynolds, releasing material for the Goldwax imprint, including "Love Me", "What'Cha Gonna Do" and "'If You Love Her" (all in 1964). He then became a session musician in Memphis, continuing to release solo sides for Goldwax, including "Have Some Boogaloo" and "It's My Life" in 1967. In 1970, he had switched label to the Climax imprint, recording one side called "What's Bothering Me" in 1970. Relocating to Miami, Florida, in 1972, Thomas signed to the Glades Records imprint, where, later that year, he released "Why Can't We Live Together".
Thomas followed up the release with "People Are Changin" b/w "Rainbow Power", which reached the charts in 1973. In 1974, he released the album You're The Song I Always Wanted To Sing. He went on to release six further Glades singles and then, in 1975 recorded a duet with Betty Wright
entitled "It's What They Can't See". From 1976 through 1980, Thomas recorded singles for both the Glades imprint and the T.K. Disco label, including "Stone To The Bone", "Africano", "Touch To Touch", "The Magician", "Freak In, Freak Out", and "Drown In My Own Tears" and the albums "The Magician" (Glades, 1976) and "Touch To Touch" (Glades, 1977). He also continued to work on sessions for TK Records
artists, including Gwen McCrae
, and in later years as a producer.
Thomas went on to record several R&B hits culminating in "Gotta Give A Little Love (Ten Years After)", a U.S. Top 30 soul entry in 1984 for Gold Mountain Records. Thomas appeared on Nicole McCloud
's 1985 album What About Me?, singing on a duet with her called "New York Eyes". This track reached #41 in the UK. The follow-up "People Are Changin'" made the charts the next year, and he continued to issue singles. The perception of him as a one-hit wonder
is belied by his continued success in the R&B chart, where he had several further hits through to 1984. In the 1990s, he worked as a producer for LaFace Records and released the album With Heart and Soul for the DTM Records.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, best known for the hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Why Can't We Live Together
Why Can't We Live Together
Why Can't We Live Together is a song by Timmy Thomas from the album Why Can't We Live Together. The song is notable for its sparse, stripped-down production, which featured only a Hammond organ, percussion from an early rhythm machine and Thomas's passionate, soulful vocal...
".
Career
He first work in FCS as customer service specialist and as a magician, Thomas first attracted interest for his work as an accompanist with Donald ByrdDonald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
and Cannonball Adderley, before working as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and releasing singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on the Goldwax Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. He had little solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
success until he moved to Glades Records in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and in late 1972 he released "Why Can't We Live Together". The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
topped the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, made the top three in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and Top Ten in many other countries including the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The track peaked at #12 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. This disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
sold over two million copies.
He was earlier part of a group called Phillip & The Faithfuls, which also included the singer Phillip Reynolds, releasing material for the Goldwax imprint, including "Love Me", "What'Cha Gonna Do" and "'If You Love Her" (all in 1964). He then became a session musician in Memphis, continuing to release solo sides for Goldwax, including "Have Some Boogaloo" and "It's My Life" in 1967. In 1970, he had switched label to the Climax imprint, recording one side called "What's Bothering Me" in 1970. Relocating to Miami, Florida, in 1972, Thomas signed to the Glades Records imprint, where, later that year, he released "Why Can't We Live Together".
Thomas followed up the release with "People Are Changin" b/w "Rainbow Power", which reached the charts in 1973. In 1974, he released the album You're The Song I Always Wanted To Sing. He went on to release six further Glades singles and then, in 1975 recorded a duet with Betty Wright
Betty Wright
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...
entitled "It's What They Can't See". From 1976 through 1980, Thomas recorded singles for both the Glades imprint and the T.K. Disco label, including "Stone To The Bone", "Africano", "Touch To Touch", "The Magician", "Freak In, Freak Out", and "Drown In My Own Tears" and the albums "The Magician" (Glades, 1976) and "Touch To Touch" (Glades, 1977). He also continued to work on sessions for TK Records
TK Records
TK Records was an American record label started by record distributor, Henry Stone in Miami, Florida, one of several labels that he founded in the 1960s and 1970s...
artists, including Gwen McCrae
Gwen McCrae
Gwen McCrae is an American R&B singer, best known for her March, 1975 hit "Rockin' Chair".-Career:...
, and in later years as a producer.
Thomas went on to record several R&B hits culminating in "Gotta Give A Little Love (Ten Years After)", a U.S. Top 30 soul entry in 1984 for Gold Mountain Records. Thomas appeared on Nicole McCloud
Nicole McCloud
Nicole J. McCloud is an international singer who has performed with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Kool & The Gang, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Timmy Thomas, and other artists. She has lived in the United States most of her life where she has recorded four albums...
's 1985 album What About Me?, singing on a duet with her called "New York Eyes". This track reached #41 in the UK. The follow-up "People Are Changin'" made the charts the next year, and he continued to issue singles. The perception of him as a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
is belied by his continued success in the R&B chart, where he had several further hits through to 1984. In the 1990s, he worked as a producer for LaFace Records and released the album With Heart and Soul for the DTM Records.
Albums
- Why Can't We Live TogetherWhy Can't We Live Together (album)-Reception:Released in 1972 this album would chart number ten in 1973 on the Soul album charts on the strength of the million seller single, Why Can't We Live Together.- Track listing :All Song written by Timmy Thomas except where indicated...
(1972) - You're The Song I've Always Wanted To Sing (1974)
- The MagicianThe Magician (album)The Magician is an latin disco album credited to Timmy Thomas and released in 1976.-Track listing:#The Magician #Say Love, Can You Chase Away My Blues? #Stone To The Bone #Show Me Tenderness...
(1976) - Touch To Touch (1977)
- Live (1979)
- Gotta Give A Little Love (Ten Years After) (1984)
- With Heart and Soul (1994)
Singles
- "Why Can't We Live Together?" / "Funky Me" (1972)
- "People Are Changin'" / "Rainbow Power" (1973)
- "Let Me Be Your Eyes" / "Cold Cold People" (1973)
- "What Can I Tell Her" / "Opportunity" (1973)
- "One Brief Moment" / "Rio Girl" (1974)
- "Deep In You" / "Spread Us Around" (1974)
- "You're The Song (I've Always Wanted To Sing)" / "I've Got To See You Tonight" (1974)
- "Sexy Woman" / "Sweet Brown Sugar" (1975)
- "Ebony Affair" / "It's What They Can't See" (1975)
- "Love Shine" / "Runnin' Out Of Time" (1976)
- "The Magician" (1976) [U.K.]
- "Stone to the Bone" / "Watch It! Watch It!"(1977)
- "Touch To Touch" / "When a House Got Music" (1977)
- "Freak In, Freak Out" / "Say Love, Can You Chase Away My Blues?" (1978)
- "Drown In My Own Tears - Part 1" / "Drown In My Own Tears - Part 2" (1978)
- "Why Can't We Live Together" (Live) / "Rainbow Power" (1979) [France]
- "Are You Crazy???" (1981)
- "My Last Affair" (1982)
- "Gotta Give A Little Love (Ten Years After)" (1984)
- "New York Eyes" (with Nicole McCloudNicole McCloudNicole J. McCloud is an international singer who has performed with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Kool & The Gang, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Timmy Thomas, and other artists. She has lived in the United States most of her life where she has recorded four albums...
)/ Ordinary Girl (1985) - "What Do You Say To A Lady" (with Jackie Moore) (1991)
- "(Dying Inside) To Hold You" (1993)
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- R&B number-one hits of 1973 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1973 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1973:See also: 1973 in music, List of number-one R&B hits -Chart comparisons:...
- List of disco artists
- List of funk musicians
- List of soul musicians
- List of Soul Train episodes
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States