Fred Thomas (musician)

Fred Thomas
Origin	Georgia, U.S.
Genres	R&B, soul, funk
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	James Brown, The J.B.'s

Fred Thomas is an American bassist best known for his work with James Brown for over thirty years.

Career

Thomas grew up in Georgia, U.S. He moved to New York City in 1965 and co-founded his own band with guitarist Hearlon "Cheese" Martin. He was the bassist as well as the lead vocalist of the group. He said "I did my own thing, which is to keep a nice bottom in the pocket. I never bothered with any fancy stuff because I always did the singing in my bands, and you can't be fancy and sing."

In 1971 James Brown saw the band at Smalls Paradise club in Harlem. Brown was in search of new musicians for his own band. He did an impromptu performance with the band and decided to hire the whole band. Thomas said his band used to cover Brown's songs and that joining Brown was a smooth transition for them. He recorded on Brown's releases during 1970s, as well as releases by The J.B.'s. He performed with Brown for over thirty years, the longest of any bassist in that position, recording on R&B hits "Hot Pants", "Make It Funky" and "Papa Don't Take No Mess". In a 2005 interview he expressed satisfaction with his work, stating "I've been involved in one of the biggest, most legendary acts in the world. It's gone on for a long time – 33 years, on and off – and I feel good about the musicians I've played with." After Brown's passing in 2006, Thomas transitioned back to fronting his own groups, as bassist and vocalist.

Discography

Credits adapted in part from AllMusic.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

With James Brown

• Revolution of the Mind (1971)
• Hot Pants (1971)
• Get on the Good Foot (1972)
• The Payback (1973)
• Hell (1974)

With The J.B.'s

• Funky Good Time: The Anthology (1995)
• Pass the Peas: The Best of the J.B.'s (2000)

Per liner-notes by Alan Leeds, Thomas performed on: "Doing It to Death", "Hot Pants Road", "Pass the Peas", "Gimme Some More", "Givin' Up Food for Funk", "Same Beat", "Damn Right I Am Somebody", "Breakin' Bread", "(It's Not the Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail", "If You Don't Get It the First Time...".

• Bring the Funk on Down (2002)
• The Lost Album (2011)

With Culture

• Good Things (1989)

External links

• Fred Thomas at MusicRadar by Rob Power, 2017
• Fred Thomas credits at AllMusic