IRMA THOMAS SIGNED 4X6 CARD

Description

Offered here is a 4x6 card signed by Irma Thomas.
I am selling my collection of autographs that I have purchased several years ago from an array of sources – from eBay sellers, from dealers with professional credentials, and from the signers themselves via the mail.  Some came with COA’s; most did not.  When I obtained these signatures, I believed them to be genuine and I believed that they were genuine when I posted them on Ebay.
I have received opinions from others, including PSA/DNA whose opinion I sought, indicating that some of the signatures that I have posted were not likely to be genuine.  I have pulled those questionable signatures, and will not post them for sale again in the future.  It is not my intention to sell autographs that are not authentic, and I will continue do my best to try to ensure that the signatures that I am offering are genuine.  As indicated below, all signatures that I sell come with a money-back guarantee if they are judged to be of doubtful authenticity.
If the signature or signatures is/are determined to be inauthentic by a well-recognized autograph expert, this item may be returned for a full refund.
For those who'd prefer a different form of shipping, please contact me so that we can discuss what your shipping charges might be.
NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:
As of January 1, 2021, eBay collects a VAT (Value Added Tax) for the Customs bureau of that country.  Some countries charge an exorbitant 20% VAT.  Some countries make distinctions for historical documents such as autographs, and charge a more reasonable 5% VAT.  PLEASE CHECK WITH CUSTOMS IN THE COUNTRY YOU RESIDE IN REGARDING A VAT AND WHAT THAT TAX WILL BE FOR THE ITEM YOU WISH TO PURCHASE FROM ANY SELLER.
Short Bio:
The unrivaled Soul Queen of New Orleans -- a title officially bestowed by local officials, no less --  Irma Thomas ranks among Crescent City R&B's greatest and most enduring musical ambassadors, never enjoying the coast-to-coast commercial success of contemporaries like Aretha Franklin and Etta James but nevertheless breathing the same rarified air in the minds of many soul music aficionados. Born Irma Lee in Ponchatoula, LA, on February 18, 1941, as a teen she sang with a Baptist church choir, even auditioning for Specialty Records as a 13-year-old. A year later, she gave birth to her first child, marrying the baby's father and subsequently giving birth to another child before the union dissolved. At 17 she wed again, this time to one Andrew Thomas, having two more babies before she again divorced, all before the age of 20. Keeping her second ex-husband's surname, Thomas went to work as a waitress at New Orleans' Pimlico Club, occasionally sitting in with bandleader Tommy Ridgley. When the club's owner dismissed her for spending more time singing than waiting tables, Ridgley agreed to help her land a record deal, setting up auditions with the local Minit and Ronn labels. The latter issued her saucy debut single, "You Can Have My Husband (But Don't Mess with My Man)," in the spring of 1960, and the record quickly reached the number 22 spot on the Billboard R&B chart. However, Thomas accused Ronn of withholding royalties and after one more effort for the label, "A Good Man," she briefly landed with the Bandy label, releasing 1961's "Look Up" before relocating to Minit.
Thomas
' first Minit release, "Girl Needs Boy," inaugurated a collaboration with songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint
that would continue throughout her tenure with the label; although none of her six Minit singles were significant hits, each was brilliant, in particular 1962's "It's Raining" (memorably revived by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch for his cult classic Down by Law) and the following year's "Ruler of My Heart," reworked by Otis Redding
as "Pain in My Heart." Imperial Records acquired Minit in 1963, and
Thomas
' contract was included in the deal. Her first single for the label, the starkly intimate "Wish Someone Would Care," capitalized on Imperial's deep pockets to vault into the Billboard pop Top 20, while its Jackie DeShannon/Sharon Sheeley-penned B-side, "Break-a-Way," proved a massive hit on New Orleans radio, later accumulating cover versions by singers from Beryl Marsden
to Tracey Ullman. The follow-up, "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)," was even better, a magnificent ballad featuring one of
Thomas
' most finely wrought vocals, but was not a hit. Likewise, its Jerry Ragovoy--penned B-side, "Time Is on My Side," had its fans, not the least of them the Rolling Stones, who scored a massive hit with a virtual note-for-note cover version.
Thomas
closed out 1964 with a pair of minor chart entries, "Times Have Changed" and "He's My Guy," both of them written by Van McCoy; for subsequent efforts including "I'm Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry" and "The Hurt's All Gone," she even traveled to New York City to record with hitmaker
Ragovoy, but despite the pedigrees of those involved, her commercial momentum dissipated, and following the chart failure of 1966's James Brown-produced "It's a Man's-Woman's World," Imperial terminated her contract.
Thomas
next signed with Chess Records, traveling to Rick Hall's legendary Muscle Shoals studio Fame to cut 1967's "Cheater Man." Neither that record nor its follow-up, "A Woman Will Do Wrong Charted," had much success, but her third Chess single, a reading of Redding's "Good to Me," was a minor R&B chart entry in 1968. It was not enough to extend
Thomas
' relationship with Chess, however, and she spent the next several years outside the studio. In the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Camille, she relocated her family to Oakland, CA, in 1969, later settling in Los Angeles. During this time
Thomas
supported her children by working at retailer Montgomery Ward, resurfacing on record with 1971's Cotillion label release "Full Time Woman." Later that year, she also issued "Save a Little Bit" on the tiny Canyon label, followed in 1972 by "I'd Do It All for You."
Thomas
returned in 1973 with "These Four Walls" on Roker, followed by three singles on the horribly named Fungus label: "You're the Dog (I Do the Barking Myself)," "In Between Tears," and "Coming from Behind." She relocated back to New Orleans in 1976, a year later issuing "Hittin' on Nothin'" and a re-recorded "Breakaway" on Maison de Soul; in 1980,
Thomas
surfaced on the RCS label with Safe with Me, an ill-conceived LP that sought to update her sound to approximate disco-era R&B. It was the last record she would make for six years.
by Jason Ankeny