CD Review: Rufus & Carla Thomas - Stax Profiles

We, the collective audience, love pop culture dynasties. Perhaps the appeal is in the idea that the level of talent that allows one to rise to the heights of stardom is not something that can be learned or even a matter of universal randomness. Rather, it is a genetic trait - something that can only be passed from the blessed few on to their blessed children. So sayeth the gospel of LA. Whatever the case, our entertainment history books are littered with the names of fathers and daughters who have both found their way into the sparkling spotlights of the national imagination: Henry and Jane Fonda, Nat King and Natalie Cole, Vic Morrow and Jennifer Jason Leigh. These families are typical of dads and their girls who go into entertainment, in that their heights of success are spread years apart: first the father makes it big, and then the daughter, talented in her own right, follows this wave of success when she comes of age.

However, though they are few, there are some examples of fathers and daughters who hit their peak at the precise same moment in history. In the case of Rufus and Carla Thomas, we find a pair of musicians who relied on one another in order to find fulfilling recording careers. In doing so, they helped to ensure success in the early days of the Stax record label and thus permanently solidified the Memphis soul sound in America's pop culture ear.

Though his most prolific moment came with his daughter's in the middle of the Twentieth Century, Rufus Thomas had been involved in the entertainment industry since the 1930s. Beginning as a comedian, Thomas later found success as a Memphis DJ and talent promoter before entering the world of music in the early 1950s. His comedic mind enabled him to record humorous novelty records, first for the legendary Sun Records and then occasionally for other labels throughout the decade before finally landing at the fledgling Satellite label, which would later become Stax Records.

Article Author: Modern Pea Pod

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