Carla Thomas Carla

Four CD set. SoulMusic Records is proud to present a first-of-it's-kind complete collection of all of the Atlantic and Stax recordings by Carla Thomas, released between 1960-1968. With a total of 94 tracks, Let Me Be Good To You celebrates 'The First Lady Of Stax Records' whose 1961 classic hit 'Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)' led to the Memphis-based label's distribution with Atlantic Records. Sequenced by session, the deluxe 4-CD set includes tracks from Carla's four solo albums, plus the famed 1967 King & Queen LP of duets with the late Otis Redding. The 'A' and 'B' sides of all of Carla's singles - including (28) non-album tracks - are featured including Carla's duets with her famous father, Rufus Thomas, along with five live recordings from Carla's 1967 performances in London and Paris with the famed Stax/Volt Revue. Produced by SoulMusic Records founder David Nathan, Let Me Be Good To You - The Atlantic & Stax Recordings (1960-1968) boasts a stellar 8,000-word extensive essay by renowned UK writer Charles Waring with 2020 quotes from Stax executive Al Bell, famed songwriter/producer David Porter, Carla's sister Vaneese (a recording artist in her own right) and former Stax publicist and songwriter Deanie Parker and others.

In the annals of Memphis music history, there is little that comes close to the timeless music of the queen, to Otis Redding’s King of Soul™, Carla Thomas. Stax Records’ first star, paired with her father Rufus Thomas on the classic “Cause I Love You,” Carla would go on to hit the charts through both the Atlantic Records-era, and after Stax split off to become an independent powerhouse, with a series of soul-pop gems that are featured on this compilation, from “B-A-B-Y” and “I Like What You’re Doing (To Me)” to “Let Me Be Good To You,” and of course her scorching 1966 duet with The Big O, “Tramp.”

Carla Thomas was more than deserving of her title "The Queen of Memphis Soul," but she was hardly oblivious to the sleeker, more pop-influenced sweet soul and uptown soul coming out of Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago. One of her strongest albums, The Queen Alone isn't the work of someone who took a Memphis-only approach, but of someone who was well aware of what Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Martha Reeves and others were up to. What's surprising is the fact that this album contains only two hits: the playful "Something Good (Is Going to Happen to You)," which made it to number 29 on Billboard's soul singles chart, and the idealistic, gospel-influenced ballad and number 11 R&B single "I'll Always Have Faith in You"…

Twenty outtakes recorded for Stax between 1960 and 1968, a number of which are gems. In fact, it is really surprising just how good the unreleased Stax stuff was in the '60s. "Loneliness," "Sweet Sensation," and "It Ain't No Easy Thing" all could have been superb singles.