Ian Thomas (Canadian musician)
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Ian Thomas (born 23 July 1950, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and author. He is younger brother to famed Canadian comedian and actor Dave Thomas.
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[edit] Career
Thomas was a successful rock and roll musician in Canada during the 1970s, with his most memorable hit being 1973's "Painted Ladies". Success in the American market, however, has proven to be elusive with the possible exception of "Painted Ladies," which remains his only U.S. Top 40 hit, and the song "Runner" which was recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. He has also done musical composition for about a dozen films and television shows. Before breaking through with "Painted Ladies", he was a producer at the CBC. Before that, he was part of the folk music group Tranquillity Base.
In 1974 he won a Juno Award for "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year".
In 1981, Thomas made a cameo appearance on SCTV with his real life brother Dave Thomas during a sketch of "The Great White North." He played himself and also performed the songs, "Pilot" and "Hold On." He also wrote and recorded the theme song for his brother's film Strange Brew. Thomas also was a musical guest on the CTV children's show Whatever Turns You On (a short-lived spinoff of You Can't Do That On Television) in 1979.
Many of his songs have been covered by popular artists, including "Hold On" (Santana), "The Runner" (Manfred Mann's Earth Band), "Right Before Your Eyes" (America), and "Chains" (Chicago). In 1988, Daryl Braithwaite had hits in Australia with two Thomas compositions: "As The Days Go By" (which peaked at #10), and "All I Do" (a #12 chart hit).
He is also known for the portrayal of the character "Dougie Franklin" on the Canadian comedy series The Red Green Show.
From 1991 through 2002, Thomas released four albums with The Boomers.
Currently, he performs with Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church and Marc Jordan in the group, Lunch At Allen's.
He has recently authored a book titled, Bequest .
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo albums
- 1973 - Ian Thomas
- 1974 - Long Long Way
- 1975 - Delights
- 1976 - Calabash (aka Goodnight Mrs. Calabash)
- 1978 - Still Here
- 1979 - Glider
- 1980 - The Best of Ian Thomas
- 1981 - The Runner
- 1984 - Riders on Dark Horses
- 1985 - Add Water
- 1988 - Levity
- 1993 - Looking Back
[edit] Albums with The Boomers
- 1991 - What We Do
- 1993 - Art of Living
- 1996 - 25 Thousand Days
- 2002 - Midway
[edit] Albums with Lunch at Allen's
- 2003 - Lunch at Allen's
- 2007 - Catch the Moon
[edit] Comedy Album with the Air Pirates
- 1990 - Volume Two
