Robert “Top” Thomas – A Thin Dime
Independent Release
www.facebook.com/RobertTopThomas
14 tracks – 43 minutes
New Smyrna Beach, Florida native Robert “Top” Thomas has a long history of playing the blues having toured and recorded with Nobel “Thin Man” Watts, Lazy Lester, Bill Wharton, and Mark “Muddyharp” Hodgson among others. More recently he has performed with Victor Wainwright. He gained recognition as a member of Smokehouse, who released four albums in the 90’s that defined a new genre of Florida Swamp Blues. Those albums were released on King Snake Records and led to him being a member of The King Snake All-Star Revue.
Thomas says his influences include Lazy Lester, Lightnin’ Slim, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed. His focus with this album is to offer a tribute to the artists from the Louisiana swamps and the Delta. Robert’s vocals are slightly gruff but certainly in keeping with the country blues he is presenting accompanied only by his guitar.
Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “One Thin Dime” is the opener and deals with the hard times that existed in Jefferson’s time. Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” is next up with Robert’s slide guitar powering the song. The traditional song “The Ballad Of John Henry” tells the tale of the legendary folk hero who worked on the railroad lines and took on a machine that was replacing workers. Robert’s version is certainly rousing. “Jack of Diamonds” is another traditional song that was popularized by Blind Lemon Jefferson and has multiple versions recorded in the 1930’s. The song is about a railroad worker who lost money playing a Conquian, a popular card game in the early era of the US. The traditional songs continue with “Ella Speed”, which received its recognition when recorded by Lead Belly and later by Lance Lipscomb. This is a true tale of the murder of New Orleans prostitute Ella Speed by Louis “Bull” Martin, a local bartender who shot Ella dead after a heavy night of drinking. Martin was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Jimmy Oden’s “Going Down Slow” was first recorded in 1941 by Jimmy with Roosevelt Sykes on piano. Many versions have subsequently been released by performers such as Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters. The latter included it on his “The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions” album, which Included Eric Clapton on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. Bobby “Blues” Bland also recorded a version of the song in 1974 that reached the Top 100 on Billboard’s music charts and topping out at #17 on their R&B chart.
Mance Lipcomb’s “I Want to Do Something for You” is a story of a man trying to give a woman something, but she declines a home, a diamond ring, a Chevrolet, but ultimately accepts a Ford sedan. “Shine on Harvest Moon” is certainly a well-known song having received pop performances by Kate Smith and Rosemary Clooney and even Leon Redbone. He returns to performing another traditional song, “Baby Please Don’t Go” which was popularized by Big Joe Williams in 1935. As originally recorded, it is a story of a man facing imprisonment who begs his woman to not leave him and return to New Orleans. The song regained recognition in the 1960’s and 70’s when recorded by several of the British artists such as “Them” with Van Morrison and The Animals, and later by Aerosmith.
“I Ain’t Got Nobody” was copyrighted in 1915 by Roger Graham and Spencer Williams under the title “I Ain’t Got Nobody and Nobody Cares for Me”. Previous versions were copyrighted in 1911 by Clarence Brandon and Billy Smythe, and in 1914 by ragtime pianist Charles Warfield, both of whom used the shorter title for the song. In 1916, a publisher obtained the rights to the song and continued to list the Graham/Williams version as the official version that became a pop standard.
The Reverend Gary Davis’ “I Am the True Vine” is a gospel tune based on the Bible verse John 15:1 which states “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser”. Roosevelt Sykes’s “Night Time Is the Right Time” is another one of those songs that has had many versions over the years. It was first recorded by Sykes in 1937. In 1957, Nappy Brown recorded a new version of the song with additional lyrics. Ray Charles then recorded the more upbeat version which reached the Top 100 on the Billboard charts and #5 on the R&B charts.
In 1927, Blind Willie Johnson recorded the autobiographical “Motherless Children”, which tells the story of children without a mother “wandering ’round from door-to-door”. Johnson’s mother died when he young and was blinded by his stepmother when she threw a caustic substance in his face. Versions of the song have been recorded by Eric Clapton and Rosanne Cash. Robert ends the album in a very upbeat fashion with Reverend Gary Davis’ “Oh Glory, How Happy I Am”.
Robert maintains the raw nature of the songs and delivers pure country blues. He hits all the right notes with the finger-picking style of acoustic guitar and slide guitar that is his accompaniment.
