Ural Thomas

Thomas was born in Louisiana, learning to sing in church.{{Cite web|last=McElhiney|first=Brian|date=|title=No pain, no gain: Ural Thomas returns to Bend|url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/lifestyle/no-pain-no-gain-ural-thomas-returns-to-bend/article_5f4b679c-8a78-55f3-a6a6-a322d44ae6fd.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=The Bend Bulletin|language=en}} The seventh of sixteen children, his family relocated to Portland, Oregon when he was a young child.{{Cite web|last=Tonry|first=Andrew|date=|title=Heart and Soul|url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/heart-and-soul/Content?oid=10934777|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Portland Mercury|language=en}} He attended Jefferson High School.{{Cite web|title=Portland Soul Singers Ural Thomas and Blossom Get Dressed Up to Get Down|url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/style-and-shopping/2018/09/portland-soul-singers-ural-thomas-and-blossom-get-dressed-up-to-get-down|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Portland Monthly|language=en-US}}

Thomas became a professional singer in the 1950s as a young man, with over forty performances at the Apollo Theater.{{Cite web|date=2018-09-24|title=Premiere: Ural Thomas And The Pain Bring Soul In 'No Distance'|url=https://www.vibe.com/2018/09/premiere-ural-thomas-the-pain-no-distance|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Vibe|language=en}} He worked with or opened for musicians such as Etta James, Otis Redding, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder. Thomas moved back to Portland in 1968.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

File:Ural Thomas and the Pain at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon 03.png in 2022]]

In the early 2010s Scott Magee, a Portland-based soul DJ, learned via the owner of Mississippi Records that Thomas{{mdash}}whose early records he spun{{mdash}}still lived in Portland. Despite having weekly jam sessions in his home, a tradition started in the 1970s, Thomas seldom played live shows.{{Cite web|last=Singer|first=Matthew|date=|title=Soul Revival|url=https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-21467-soul-revival.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Willamette Week|language=en-US}} Together, Thomas and Magee created Ural Thomas and the Pain, an eight-piece backing band for Thomas's vocals. The group has released two full length albums: 2016's self-titled release and 2018's The Right Time, the latter of which was released on the label Tender Loving Empire.{{Cite web|first=|date=|title=Ural Thomas & The Pain|url=https://tenderlovingempire.com/collections/ural-thomas-the-pain|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Tender Loving Empire|language=en}} The band has played in venues as large as the main stage of the Waterfront Blues Festival.{{Cite web|last=Rosman|first=John|title=5 Picks For 2015 Portland Waterfront Blues Festival|url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/5-picks-for-2015-portland-waterfront-blues-festival/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=www.opb.org|language=en}} Their third album, Dancing Dimensions, was released on Bella Union in June, 2022.{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=Austin |date=2022-03-11 |title=SXSW Music Spotlight: Ural Thomas & the Pain |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2022-03-11/sxsw-music-spotlight-ural-thomas-and-the-pain/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.austinchronicle.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Song of the Week: 'Dancing Dimensions' by Ural Thomas & the Pain |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/arts-and-culture/2022/03/ural-thomas-and-the-pain-dancing-dimensions-song-of-the-week |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Portland Monthly |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.uralthomasandthepain.com/home Ural Thomas and the Pain]
• [https://tenderlovingempire.com/collections/ural-thomas-the-pain Tender Loving Empire: Ural Thomas and the Pain]

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Category:1939 births

Category:Living people

Category:Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni

Category:Singers from Portland, Oregon

Category:American soul singers