James "Son" Thomas (14 October 1926 in
EdenEden is a village in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 126 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Eden is located at ....
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
— 26 June 1993 in
GreenvilleGreenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 41,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2007 census bureau estimates, has since declined to 35,764, making it the eighth largest city in the state...
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
,
gravediggerA gravedigger is a cemetery worker responsible for digging graves used in the process of burial.-Fossors:Fossor or Fossarius , from the Latin verb fodere 'to dig', referred to grave diggers in the Roman catacombs in the first three or four centuries of the Christian Era...
and
sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
from
LelandLeland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,502 at the 2000 census.The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the...
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
.
Born in Eden, Mississippi, Thomas was known as a folk artist for his sculptures made from un-fired clay which he dug out of the banks of the
Yazoo RiverThe Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
. His most famous sculpted images were skulls (often featuring actual human teeth) which mirrored his job as a gravedigger and his often stated philosophy that "we all end up in the clay".
James "Son" Thomas (14 October 1926 in
EdenEden is a village in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 126 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Eden is located at ....
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
— 26 June 1993 in
GreenvilleGreenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 41,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2007 census bureau estimates, has since declined to 35,764, making it the eighth largest city in the state...
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
,
gravediggerA gravedigger is a cemetery worker responsible for digging graves used in the process of burial.-Fossors:Fossor or Fossarius , from the Latin verb fodere 'to dig', referred to grave diggers in the Roman catacombs in the first three or four centuries of the Christian Era...
and
sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
from
LelandLeland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,502 at the 2000 census.The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the...
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
.
Life and career
Born in Eden, Mississippi, Thomas was known as a folk artist for his sculptures made from un-fired clay which he dug out of the banks of the
Yazoo RiverThe Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
. His most famous sculpted images were skulls (often featuring actual human teeth) which mirrored his job as a gravedigger and his often stated philosophy that "we all end up in the clay". Thomas' skulls can be found on display in several blues
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
s throughout Mississippi. Thomas played at numerous blues
festivalsA music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
and private parties throughout the area including the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival. His later performances saw him accompanied by
harmonicaThe harmonica is a free reed wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes. The pressure caused by blowing or drawing air into the reed chambers causes a reed or multiple reeds to vibrate up and down creating sound...
player Walter Liniger. Thomas was
recordedSound 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...
by several small
record labelIn 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 and is probably best known for his album
Gateway to the Delta which was recorded by
Rust CollegeRust College is a historically black liberal arts college located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Located approximately 35 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, it is the second-oldest private college in the state and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and one of only ten historically...
in
Holly Springs, MississippiHolly Springs is a city in Marshall County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,957 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County. A short drive from Memphis, Tennessee, Holly Springs is the site of a number of well-preserved antebellum homes and other structures and...
, although he remains an obscure figure outside of dedicated blues communities.
He appeared in the
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
s
Delta Blues Singer: James "Sonny Ford" Thomas in 1970 and
Give My Poor Heart Ease: Mississippi Delta Bluesmen in 1975, plus the short
Mississippi Delta Blues in 1974.
He died in 1993 in Greenville, Mississippi. Thomas is buried in Leland and memorialized by a headstone placed in 1996 by the
Mt. Zion Memorial FundThe Mt. Zion Memorial Fund is a Mississippi non-profit corporation formed in 1989 and named after the 108 year old Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Morgan City, Mississippi...
and paid for by the fellow musician
John FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. He was born in Berkeley, California and is the younger brother of Tom Fogerty...
. His epitaph consists of
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
from one of his songs. His son Pat Thomas, continues to play and perform his father's songs.