Soul Music

The song was written by Carla Thomas, who at the time was only a teenager. The words had an innocence to them, but her emotional performance shows maturity — and a great voice. It was difficult getting the song to market, but by February of 1961, it was distributed by Atlantic Records, and it rose to #10 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the U.S. R&B Chart. Carla Thomas appeared on American Bandstand. She was the first woman to chart a Top 10 song in the Billboard Hot 100 with a song she wrote herself. (The next to do this was Doris Troy in 1963 with her song “Just One Look.”)

Carla Thomas was born on December 21, 1942 in Memphis Tennessee. She has been nicknamed The Queen of Memphis Soul. She is from an accomplished musical family, as she is the daughter of Rufus Thomas (e.g., “Walking the Dog,” “Do the Funky Chicken”), an R&B, funk, soul, and blues singer/songwriters, dancer, DJ, and entertainer. He recorded for the Satellite label, which became Stax Records. Carla’s siblings Marvell and Vaneese carry on the family musical tradition as well.

Here are the lyrics to “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)” by Carla Thomas:

Gee whiz, look at his eyes
Gee whiz, how they hypnotize
He’s got everything a girl could want
Man, oh, man, what a prize!
Oooh ooh

Gee whiz, he’s all the joy
Gee whiz, I could find in a boy
He’s awful nice, it’s paradise
I hope I’m not his decoy

Heaven up above knows how much
I love that gentle soul
Angels sing of a love like this
I hope our love will grow and grow

Oh, gee whiz, I love that guy
Gee whiz, my, my, oh my
There are things we could do
I could say I love you
But all I can say is…gee whiz!

For another song by Carla Thomas: “B A B Y.”

For More Golden Oldies Music       

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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