Irma Thomas makes her comeback at 84: ‘I’m not getting any younger.’

By the time Irma Thomas was 19, she’d been married twice, had four young children and a hit on the Billboard R&B chart with “Don’t Mess with My Man.”

Now 84, she’s on her third marriage, which has lasted half a century, and nearly all her children are drawing Social Security. So what she’s doing now? 

She’s making a comeback with her first album in 17 years, “Audience with the Queen,” which is out April 11.

The album, which references her nickname, “The Soul Queen of New Orleans,” is a collaboration with Galactic, the iconic soul-jazz-funk New Orleans band. The group recorded “Heart of Steel” with Thomas back in 2010, and several years ago approached her about recording again. They ended up supplying eight original songs for the album and then added one cover, “How Glad I Am.”

Life has never been easy for Thomas, who spoke by phone recently about her album and career. In 1969, Hurricane Camille wiped out most of the clubs she worked at and her effort to rebuild her career in Los Angeles didn’t go as planned. Eventually, she and her husband returned to the New Orleans area and opened a club, The Lion’s Den, but that closed after Hurricane Katrina. 

Thomas finally earned national recognition, garnering a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy for “After the Rain” in 2007, but after “Simply Grand” in 2008, her recording career seemed over… until now. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. This album was a long time coming. 

They were taking their time about doing it, and I kept reminding them, “I’m not getting any younger.”

I was in my late seventies when we started this, and I was 83 when we finished and I do have health issues. Tomorrow, or even the next minute, is not promised, so I wanted to get the project completed. 

It took them forever to come up with the songs, and they took their time getting it done but it was well worth it.

Q. Were you involved at all in writing or selecting the songs?

In a roundabout way. Sometimes a song came out of our conversations. “Where I Belong” came from a conversation about how long I’ve been in the business and some of the places that I’ve traveled. 

I did have them change some lyrics in “Lady Liberty.” There was a line about the police killing people, but I didn’t want that. I wanted it to be a general statement, not a specific statement.

And then they had one, “Peace in My Heart” written as a gospel song, and I told them, “Look, I already explained to you guys, I don’t mix my gospel music with my R&B music, so you’re going to either rewrite the song or find something else.” So they rewrote it.

Q. How was it being back in the studio?

I’ve always worked with live musicians. We didn’t do this overdub thing back then because it wasn’t available at that time, so we’d feed off of each other’s energy and that’s what makes the project whole. And I loved recording that way, but I had to learn to record from tracks with Galactic because they had everything already played when I got there, so that was a new experience for me. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, but after doing it a few times, you get accustomed to it.

Q. Is there anything you do to keep your voice sounding so rich and vibrant?

I think I’m better than when I was younger, but I can’t tell you what exactly contributes to that.

I’ve sung long enough to know not to try to out-sing the band, but I’ve never had any special things that I did to keep my voice the way it is. I do sing in my church choir every Sunday when I’m not on the road somewhere. And I do get to do quite a few solos at my church. 

I don’t eat five hours before performing or singing in the studio. I discovered years ago I can’t sing well on a full stomach. On Sunday mornings, I don’t really actually eat a solid meal. I have a protein drink that I take my medications with, and that’s what I’m surviving on at church.

I don’t drink a lot of water. And I don’t drink carbonated cold drinks because I had a very bad experience some years ago. So I’ve never done that since.

Q. Are there any New Orleans artists that you’re listening to these days?

Well, at this age, I don’t go out much when I’m not working. I’m either at home watching the Game Show Network or I go to church. I do go to the casinos every once in a while. I’m one of the old folks who likes the slot machines.

Q. What happened to your career in the 1970s after you moved to Los Angeles?

I had relatives there and thought I could get a new start, but back then, Los Angeles clubs wanted you to pay them to work there. I said, “Like hell.” So I  got a job at Montgomery Ward instead of doing gigs. I worked for Montgomery Ward the whole seven years I was in California, even after I moved to the Bay Area. I had my children at home with me and was a single mom, so I didn’t have time to have an ego about it.

Q. But years later, was there a feeling of validation when you finally won a Grammy?

Actually, offers for shows stopped after that. They got the impression that because I had won a Grammy, my price would go up, which it didn’t.

Q. In 1964, the Rolling Stones saw you perform the song “Time Is on My Side” and liked it so much they recorded it. You stopped doing it live until years later Bonnie Raitt got you to perform it with her. Last year at New Orleans Jazz Fest, you finally performed the song with the Stones. What was that like?

I hadn’t seen Mick Jagger since that day in 1964. Keith Richards had come to see me in Europe once. But they were supposed to come to Jazz Fest before last year, but Mick had a procedure for his heart (in 2019) and I’ve had that same one done twice on mine. Both of us are in our eighties so this show was a blessing – after all those years to have the opportunity and show we can still do it.