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.
2 Comments
I really love this original song and artist. Carla Thomas is simply the best! I first heard Gee Whiz performed by Bernadette Peters and instantly fell in love with it. Often this ‘love’ would win out against the original, but not in this case. Although Bernadette Peters’ version is fantastic, Carla Thomas rules!!
. I just heart Bernadette Peters cover version, “She killed it”.