On the eve of her 81st birthday, New Orleans’ famed R&B vocalist Irma Thomas was the subject of an extensive interview in The New York Times that appeared online on February 17. Giovanni Russonello profiled the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” describing the title as “both richly deserved and far too provincial. Her songs never topped the Billboard pop chart, but they did climb it. And even today, they’re covered by bar bands and in blues jams across the country.”

New Orleans-based photographer Camille Lenain provided images for the transcribed Q&A session.

In one portion of the interview Thomas responds to a question about the influence of fellow New Orleanian Mahalia Jackson.

“I grew up listening to Mahalia Jackson’s music as a child,” Thomas said. “My parents had some of her records, back when it was 78s, and then in New Orleans we had radio stations that had gospel programming during the day. But we heard all kinds of music locally on the radio back then, because the radio stations were owned by local producers and owners. So they played a lot of local music as well as a lot of national music.

“So people who are my age, who grew up here in New Orleans, we had the best of both worlds because we were hearing it all. And then we didn’t have to fight to have a local record played. Nowadays, you’re lucky to hear your record once a year, because it’s not owned by local people. It’s, you know, ClearChannel or something like that, and they couldn’t care less. When you hear one hour, that’s what you’re going to hear all day long. So you don’t get a chance to call in and request what you would like to hear.”

The interview was inspired by a new biographical documentary about Thomas that premiered on WYES in October 2022. Irma: My Life in Music will air nationally on PBS affiliates throughout 2022 and on the World Channel.

Read the full interview at The New York Times website or purchase the print edition on Sunday, February 20..