Evelyn Thomas

Biography

Ellen Lucille "Evelyn" Thomas (August 22, 1953 – July 21, 2024) was an American singer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for the hi-NRG dance hits "High Energy×High Energy1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Masquerade (Special remix)5:30A2Heartless8:20A3Running Wild in the Night7:37B1High Energy5:28B2Second Best5:10B3Chalk It Up to Experience5:50B4Shy Guy5:48", "Masquerade", "Standing at the Crossroads", "Reflections×Reflections1985 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAReflections9:47BRunning Wild in the Night7:40", and "Weak Spot".

Life and career

Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1953. Although best known worldwide for her 1980s hi-NRG club hits, Thomas recorded and performed disco, Eurobeat, R&B, and dance music songs in the 1980s. She was discovered by British producer Ian Levine, who was in the United States in 1975 scouting for gospel and soul singers he could promote in the UK. The two recorded several tracks which resulted in a contract with 20th Century Records.
Thomas scored a chart hit with her first single, reaching the UK top 30 in 1976 with the single "Weak Spot", co-written by Levine and Paul David Wilson. A follow-up single, "Doomsday", entered the UK charts twice, and Levine and Thomas would continue their association for quite some time. She signed to US label Casablanca Records for her first album release, I Wanna Make It on My Own×I Wanna Make It on My Own10 July 1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracksA1I Wanna Make It on My Own6:56A2It's the Magic of Your Touch6:58B1Look No Further5:54B2Thanks for Being There4:50B3Back to Reality2:48, released in 1978. With Casablanca doing little to promote the LP, she switched to AVI Records for the double A-side 12-inch single "Have a Little Faith in Me×Have a Little Faith in Me5 September 1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Have a Little Faith in Me8:12A2No Time to Turn Around9:50B1My Head's in the Stars8:37B2Love's Not Just an Illusion6:42" / "No Time to Turn Around" which prompted the label to release it as an LP, backed with Rick Gianatos' extended remixes of her 1976 tracks "My Head's in the Stars" and "Love's Not Just an Illusion".
By 1984, Levine had re-established himself as a producer and asked Thomas to come to London to record a new track "High Energy×High Energy1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Masquerade (Special remix)5:30A2Heartless8:20A3Running Wild in the Night7:37B1High Energy5:28B2Second Best5:10B3Chalk It Up to Experience5:50B4Shy Guy5:48". Just a few weeks after it was released, it became a chart hit in Europe, peaking at number one in Germany and at number five in the UK. The song was her only Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 85, although three additional songs hit the Billboard dance chart.
The follow-up single, "Masquerade", was taken from her third album, High Energy, released the same year. While it received heavy rotation in European clubs, it failed to break into the UK top 40. Later in the year, "Heartless" became her only single other than "High Energy" to chart outside of the dance charts in the US. "Heartless" peaked at number 84 on the Black Singles chart (later renamed the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart) in 1985.
Though she would not return to the US pop or R&B charts, she had a dance chart hit with a cover of the Supremes' 1967 song "Reflections×Reflections1985 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAReflections9:47BRunning Wild in the Night7:40", peaking at number 18 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in early 1986. A second Thomas release that summer fared even better on the dance charts, with "How Many Hearts×How Many Hearts1986 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAHow Many Hearts8:01BHow Many Hearts (instrumental dub)8:00" narrowly missing the top 10, peaking at number 11. The two songs would later appear on Thomas' fourth album release, Standing at the Crossroads, in 1986.
In 2009, Thomas and three others formed an entertainment company, called Eljopan Entertainment Incorporated.
Thomas died on July 21, 2024, at the age of 70. Her death was acknowledged by Levine who premiered a posthumous song, "Out with the Old", in her honour on August 1, 2024. People reported that Thomas's daughter Kimberly, a vocalist who performs as YaYa Diamond, intended to record one of Thomas's unreleased songs as a tribute to her life and legacy.

Studio albums

I Wanna Make It on My Own (Casablanca Records, 1978)
Have a Little Faith in Me (AVI Records, 1979)
High Energy (Record Shack, 1984)
Standing at the Crossroads (Record Shack, 1986)

Compilation albums

The Best of Evelyn Thomas (Hot Productions, 1991)
High Energy: The Best of Evelyn Thomas (Hallmark, 2000)