Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas started singing as a teenager in New Orleans and recorded her first single, 'You Can Have My Husband,' when she was still in her mid-teens. That regional hit led to a contract with Imperial Records in 1961, where she cut 'Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand).' The song became her signature, a piece of soul balladry that still gets covered and sampled decades later.

She kept recording through the 1960s and 1970s, putting out albums like 'Time Is on My Side' and 'In Between Tears.' Her voice worked in different settings, from the aching plea of 'I Need Your Love So Bad' to the stormy drama of 'It's Raining.' She didn't chase trends so much as let her delivery adapt to whatever arrangement she was given.

Thomas has been called the Soul Queen of New Orleans for a long time, a title that fits because she never really left. She still performs there regularly, and her catalog has grown to include more than thirty albums. Recent ones like 'Simply Grand' pair her with piano players in stripped-down sessions that remind you how little her voice has aged.