Hociel Thomas
Hociel Thomas (July 10, 1904 – August 22, 1952) was an American blues singer and pianist in the classic female blues style. Born in Houston, Texas, United States, her father, George Washington Thomas, was a musician, songwriter, and music publisher. Around 1916, she relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, to live with her aunt, the blues singer Sippie Wallace. She began performing, often with Sippie Wallace, at local parties and in Storyville, the city's red-light district. She moved to Chicago, Illinois, in about 1924 and worked in local clubs and theatres there until the early 1930s. In 1925, she recorded for Gennett Records, and in 1925–26 she recorded several sides for the Okeh label. Her accompanists on the Okeh recordings included her teenaged uncle Hersal Thomas, whose piano is heard on "Fish Tail Dance", and Louis Armstrong. and four other sides. During the years of the Great Depression her career diminished, and she worked outside music. In the early 1940s, she moved to Oakland, California. In 1946, she recorded seven songs as pianist and vocalist with Mutt Carey for the Circle label, which were her last recordings. She worked with Kid Ory's Orchestra in San Francisco In 1948. In 1948 or 1949, she engaged in a brawl with one of her sisters, in which she lost her eyesight and her sister was killed. Charged with manslaughter, she was tried and acquitted. She died of heart disease on August 22, 1952. |
= 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | 8491 | 10-in. | October 1923 | Shorty George blues | Eddie Heywood ; Sippie Wallace | Female vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
OKeh | 9167 | 10-in. | May 1925 | Worried down with the blues | Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, contralto, songwriter | |
OKeh | 9168 | 10-in. | May 1925 | Fish tail dance | Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9471 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | Gambler's dream | Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9472 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | Sunshine baby | Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9473 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | Adam and Eve had the blues | Louis Armstrong's Jazz Four ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9474 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | Put it where I can get it | Louis Armstrong's Jazz Four ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9475 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | Wash woman blues | Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9476 | 10-in. | 11/11/1925 | I've stopped my man | Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9519 | 10-in. | 2/24/1926 | Deep water blues | Louis Armstrong ; Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with trumpet and piano | vocalist, contralto, lyricist, composer | |
OKeh | 9520 | 10-in. | 2/24/1926 | G'wan I told you (She just won't have) | Louis Armstrong ; Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with trumpet and piano | vocalist, contralto | |
OKeh | 9521 | 10-in. | 2/24/1926 | Listen to Ma | Louis Armstrong ; Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with trumpet and piano | vocalist, contralto, lyricist, composer | |
OKeh | 9522 | 10-in. | 2/24/1926 | Lonesome hours | Louis Armstrong ; Hersal Thomas ; Hociel Thomas | Female vocal solo, with trumpet and piano | vocalist, contralto, lyricist, composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thomas, Hociel," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109151.
Thomas, Hociel. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109151.
"Thomas, Hociel." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Thomas, Hociel - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no91020825
Wikidata: Hociel Thomas - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1622571
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/61749945
MusicBrainz: Hociel Thomas - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d97171be-764a-415b-b91d-6b5683973f93
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