Career
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Thomas first heard blues guitar from his uncle Jesse Thomas, but Lafayette Thomas did not play professionally until 1947, in San Francisco, California.
"Lafayette" Thomas was the famous guitarist of Jimmy McCracklin's Blues Blasters, which he joined in 1948 and recorded with right through the 1950s. He was influenced by Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker and joined Bob Geddins and the Cavaliers in 1949. The bulk of his recordings were with Jimmy McCracklin in the 1950s, and for Modern in 1952-53. He soloed on his own "Standing in the Back Door Crying", recorded at a 1954 McCracklin session with Modern Records.
In 1958 he moved to New York, working with Sam Price and playing on Bluesville album dates by Memphis Slim and Little Brother Montgomery, but soon went back west, though he let his music lapse.
Late in 1968, he recorded his first sides for the World Pacific record label on Oakland Blues, a compilation album of artists from that city. He remained semi active in the early 1970s working with Sugar Pie DeSanto.
Thomas died from a heart attack, in Brisbane, California, at the age of 48. In his 1977 obituary Tom Mazzolini, producer of the San Francisco Blues Festival wrote: "Unquestionably the finest guitarist to emerge from the San Francisco-Oakland blues scene, there is hardly a guitarist around here today who doesn't owe a little something to Lafayette Thomas . . ."
Read more about this topic: Lafayette Thomas
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“My ambition in life: to become successful enough to resume my career as a neurasthenic.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)