Jamo Thomas
Encyclopedia
Jamo Thomas is an American
Northern soul
, soul
and funk
singer, best remembered for his 1967 hit single
, "I Spy (For the FBI)". Born in either The Bahamas
or Chicago
, he recorded for several different record label
s between 1965 and 1976. His billing sometimes included his name alongside backing musicians, known as his Party Brothers Orchestra, or simply as Mr. Jamo. His biggest successes were "Bahama Mama" and a cover version
of "I Spy (For the FBI)".
-based Bobby Peterson Quintet in the late 1950s, Thomas relocated to Chicago in the early 1960s. He recorded his debut single
, "Stop the Baby", in 1965 for the small Conlo Records label, with the track produced
by Jerry Butler
.
His next recording
, "I Spy (For the FBI)", produced by Monk Higgins and Burgess Gardner and released on the small Thomas label (owned by Eddie Thomas), peaked at #98 on the US
Billboard
Hot 100
in 1966. It was re-issued on Polydor
in the UK
in 1969, it reached #44 in the UK Singles Chart
. The track proved to be his only appearance in either chart
. The song was written by Herman Wesley Kelley and Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
, and originally recorded by Luther Ingram
a few months prior to Thomas' version.
Thomas later moved to Philadelphia and recorded for Perception Records. By 1972, he was acting in a promotional capacity for Stax Records
. His recording career finished in the mid 1970s, although Thomas was later credited as an arranger
for an Ella Washington
gospel
album
. His scream
was used on the opening of the track "Scream" on Graham Central Station
's 1979 Warner Bros.
album, Star Walk.
His work has appeared on various compilation album
s over the years, including Spy Magazine Presents: Spy Music, Vol. 1 (1994), Chess Club Rhythm & Soul (1996) and Shake What You Brought! SSS Soul Collection (2005).
In addition to the Ingram and Thomas versions of "I Spy (For the FBI)", the song has been recorded by The Untouchables, Blue Rondo à la Turk
and John Hiatt
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
singer, best remembered for his 1967 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "I Spy (For the FBI)". Born in either The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
or Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, he recorded for several different record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s between 1965 and 1976. His billing sometimes included his name alongside backing musicians, known as his Party Brothers Orchestra, or simply as Mr. Jamo. His biggest successes were "Bahama Mama" and a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "I Spy (For the FBI)".
Career
After a spell as a percussionist with the PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
-based Bobby Peterson Quintet in the late 1950s, Thomas relocated to Chicago in the early 1960s. He recorded his debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Stop the Baby", in 1965 for the small Conlo Records label, with the track produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
.
His next recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, "I Spy (For the FBI)", produced by Monk Higgins and Burgess Gardner and released on the small Thomas label (owned by Eddie Thomas), peaked at #98 on the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1966. It was re-issued on Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1969, it reached #44 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The track proved to be his only appearance in either chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. The song was written by Herman Wesley Kelley and Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
Richard Wayne Wylie , often known as Popcorn Wylie, was an African-American pianist, bandleader, songwriter, occasional singer, and record producer who was influential in the early years of Motown Records and was later known for his work on many records in the Northern soul genre.-Life and...
, and originally recorded by Luther Ingram
Luther Ingram
Luther Ingram was an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter.-Career:Born Luther Thomas Ingram in Jackson, Tennessee, his early interest in music led to him making his first record in 1965 at the age of 28. His first three recordings failed to chart but that changed when he signed for KoKo...
a few months prior to Thomas' version.
Thomas later moved to Philadelphia and recorded for Perception Records. By 1972, he was acting in a promotional capacity for Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. His recording career finished in the mid 1970s, although Thomas was later credited as an arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
for an Ella Washington
Ella Washington
Ella Washington is an African-American former R&B and gospel singer, described as "an outstanding Southern soul vocalist" and best known for her 1969 hit "He Called Me Baby". She later became a church pastor....
gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. His scream
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
was used on the opening of the track "Scream" on Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
's 1979 Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
album, Star Walk.
His work has appeared on various compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s over the years, including Spy Magazine Presents: Spy Music, Vol. 1 (1994), Chess Club Rhythm & Soul (1996) and Shake What You Brought! SSS Soul Collection (2005).
In addition to the Ingram and Thomas versions of "I Spy (For the FBI)", the song has been recorded by The Untouchables, Blue Rondo à la Turk
Blue Rondo à la Turk (band)
Blue Rondo à la Turk was an early 1980s British pop group, which featured Chris Sullivan on vocals and Mark Reilly on guitar. Other band members were Moses Mount Bassie , Mick "Lloyd" Bynoe , Art Collins , Geraldo d'Arbilly , Kito Poncioni , Christos Tolera , Tholo Peter Tsegona , and Daniel White...
and John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
.
Discography
- "Stop the Baby" b/w "Let's Party" (Conlo Records) (1965)
- "I Spy (For the FBI)" b/w "Snake Hip Mama" (Thomas Records) (1966)
- "Arrest Me" b/w "Jamo's Soul" (Thomas Records) (1966)
- "Must I Holler" b/w "I'll Be Your Fool" (ChessChess RecordsChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
) (1966) - "Nassau Daddy" b/w "Jive Mother-in-Law" (Sound Stage 7Sound Stage 7Sound Stage 7 was an American, Nashville, Tennessee based record label of the 1960s and 1970s, noted mainly for its soul music releases. The label's biggest star was Joe Simon, who placed numerous singles on the U.S...
) (1967) - "Bahama Mama (Part 1)" b/w "Bahama Mama (Part 2)" (Sound Stage 7) (1967)
- "Education Is Where It's At (Part 1)" b/w "Education Is Where It's At (Part 2)" (DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
) (1968) - "Shake What You Brought With You (Part 1)" b/w "Shake What You Brought With You (Part 2)" (Perception) (1970)
- "You Just Ain't Ready (Part 1)" b/w "You Just Ain't Ready (Part 2)" (SSS International) (1970)