Henry Thomas

Henry Thomas (1874–1930?) was an American country blues singer, songster and musician. Although his recording career, in the late 1920s, was brief, Thomas influenced performers including Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Grateful Dead, and Canned Heat. Often billed as "Ragtime Texas", Thomas's style is an early example of what later became known as Texas blues guitar.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1874 (Big Sandy), Died 1930

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927 - 1929

Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, composer, reed aerophone

Notes: Often sub-credited as "Ragtime Texas."

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick C1999 10-in. 6/12/1928 Bull doze blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C2000 10-in. 6/12/1928 Don’t ease me in Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C2001 10-in. 6/12/1928 Texas easy street blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C2002 10-in. 6/13/1928 Texas worried blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C2003 10-in. 6/13/1928 Fishing blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and possibly reed pipes vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, reed aerophone  
Brunswick C2007 10-in. 6/13/1928 Chicken rag Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and possibly reed pipes vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C2008 10-in. 6/13/1928 Old country stomp Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C4621 10-in. 10/6/1929 Charming Betsy Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and or quill. vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C4622 10-in. 10/6/1929 Lovin’ babe Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and possibly quill vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C4623 10-in. 10/6/1929 Railroadin’ some Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and quill or reed pipes vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, reed aerophone  
Brunswick C4624 10-in. 10/6/1929 Don’t leave me here Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1021-C1023 10-in. 7/1/1927 The fox and the hounds Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, reed aerophone, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1024-C1025 10-in. 7/1/1927 John Henry Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone  
Brunswick C1026-C1027 10-in. 7/1/1927 Cottonfield blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Brunswick C1028-C1029 10-in. 7/1/1927 Arkansas Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Brunswick C1198-C1199 10-in. 10/5/1927 The fox and hounds Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, reed aerophone  
Brunswick C1200-C1201 10-in. 10/5/1927 The little red caboose Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and reed pipes or whistling vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C1202-C1203 10-in. 10/5/1927 Bob McKinney Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar and whistling or reed pipes vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, reed aerophone, composer  
Brunswick C1205-C1207 10-in. 10/5/1927 Red River blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1220-C1221 10-in. 10/7/1927 Honey, won’t you allow me one more chance? Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1222-C1223 10-in. 10/7/1927 Run, Mollie, run Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1224-C1225 10-in. 10/7/1927 Shanty blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1226-C1227 10-in. 10/7/1927 Woodhouse blues Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1228-C1229 10-in. 10/7/1927 Jonah in the wilderness Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Brunswick C1230-C1231 10-in. 10/7/1927 When the train comes along Henry Thomas Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thomas, Henry," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353142.

Thomas, Henry. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353142.

"Thomas, Henry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353142

External Sources

Wikipedia: Henry Thomas

Discogs: Henry Thomas

Allmusic: Henry Thomas

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Thomas, Henry, 1874- - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no96065232

Wikidata: Henry Thomas - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1607308

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/38974364

MusicBrainz: Henry Thomas - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/46b6c6e1-81ca-4fa8-b264-8f0fe49dff1a

FAST: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/476953

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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