Ural Thomas (born 21 December 1939) [1] is an American soul music singer. While Thomas has made music for over fifty years, his public performances span two eras: the 1950s through the 1960s, and from 2013 through the present as Ural Thomas and the Pain.
Thomas was born in Louisiana, learning to sing in church. [2] The seventh of sixteen children, his family relocated to Portland, Oregon when he was a young child. [3] He attended Jefferson High School. [4]
Thomas became a professional singer in the 1950s as a young man, with over forty performances at the Apollo Theater. [5] He worked with or opened for musicians such as Etta James, [4] Otis Redding, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder. [1] Thomas moved back to Portland in 1968.[ citation needed]
In the early 2010s Scott Magee, a Portland-based soul DJ, learned via the owner of Mississippi Records that Thomas - whose early records he spun - still lived in Portland. [1] Despite having weekly jam sessions in his home, a tradition started in the 1970s, Thomas seldom played live shows. [6] Together, Thomas and Magee created Ural Thomas and the Pain, an eight-piece backing band for Thomas's vocals. [2] The group has released two full length albums: 2016's self-titled release and 2018's The Right Time, the latter of which was released on the label Tender Loving Empire. [7] The band has played in venues as large as the main stage of the Waterfront Blues Festival. [8] Their third album, Dancing Dimensions was released on Bella Union in June, 2022. [9] [10]
Ural Thomas (born 21 December 1939) [1] is an American soul music singer. While Thomas has made music for over fifty years, his public performances span two eras: the 1950s through the 1960s, and from 2013 through the present as Ural Thomas and the Pain.
Thomas was born in Louisiana, learning to sing in church. [2] The seventh of sixteen children, his family relocated to Portland, Oregon when he was a young child. [3] He attended Jefferson High School. [4]
Thomas became a professional singer in the 1950s as a young man, with over forty performances at the Apollo Theater. [5] He worked with or opened for musicians such as Etta James, [4] Otis Redding, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder. [1] Thomas moved back to Portland in 1968.[ citation needed]
In the early 2010s Scott Magee, a Portland-based soul DJ, learned via the owner of Mississippi Records that Thomas - whose early records he spun - still lived in Portland. [1] Despite having weekly jam sessions in his home, a tradition started in the 1970s, Thomas seldom played live shows. [6] Together, Thomas and Magee created Ural Thomas and the Pain, an eight-piece backing band for Thomas's vocals. [2] The group has released two full length albums: 2016's self-titled release and 2018's The Right Time, the latter of which was released on the label Tender Loving Empire. [7] The band has played in venues as large as the main stage of the Waterfront Blues Festival. [8] Their third album, Dancing Dimensions was released on Bella Union in June, 2022. [9] [10]