# Ural Thomas > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ural_Thomas > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ural_Thomas.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural_Thomas > Source revision: 1348089481 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American soul music singer (born 1939)}} [[File:Ural Thomas and the Pain play at Mississippi Studios 05.jpg|thumb|right|Ural Thomas and the Pain play at [Mississippi Studios](/source/Mississippi_Studios).]] '''Ural Thomas''' (born 21 December 1939){{Cite web|last=Weinbender|first=Nathan|title=Ural Thomas started making music 50 years ago, and his band will take you back to the '60s|url=https://www.inlander.com/spokane/ural-thomas-started-making-music50-years-ago-and-his-band-the-pain-will-take-you-right-back-to-the-60s/Content?oid=11195609|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Inlander}} is an American [soul music](/source/soul_music) singer. While Thomas has made music for over fifty years, his public performances span two eras: the 1950s through the 1960s, and from 2013 through the present as '''Ural Thomas and the Pain'''. == Early life and career == Thomas was born in [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana), learning to sing in church.{{Cite web|last=McElhiney|first=Brian|date=|title=No pain, no gain: Ural Thomas returns to Bend|url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/lifestyle/no-pain-no-gain-ural-thomas-returns-to-bend/article_5f4b679c-8a78-55f3-a6a6-a322d44ae6fd.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=The Bend Bulletin|language=en}} The seventh of sixteen children, his family relocated to [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon) when he was a young child.{{Cite web|last=Tonry|first=Andrew|date=|title=Heart and Soul|url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/heart-and-soul/Content?oid=10934777|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Portland Mercury|language=en}} He attended [Jefferson High School](/source/Jefferson_High_School_(Portland%2C_Oregon)).{{Cite web|title=Portland Soul Singers Ural Thomas and Blossom Get Dressed Up to Get Down|url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/style-and-shopping/2018/09/portland-soul-singers-ural-thomas-and-blossom-get-dressed-up-to-get-down|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Portland Monthly|language=en-US}} Thomas became a professional singer in the 1950s as a young man, with over forty performances at the [Apollo Theater](/source/Apollo_Theater).{{Cite web|date=2018-09-24|title=Premiere: Ural Thomas And The Pain Bring Soul In 'No Distance'|url=https://www.vibe.com/2018/09/premiere-ural-thomas-the-pain-no-distance|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Vibe|language=en}} He worked with or opened for musicians such as [Etta James](/source/Etta_James), [Otis Redding](/source/Otis_Redding), [James Brown](/source/James_Brown), and [Stevie Wonder](/source/Stevie_Wonder). Thomas moved back to Portland in 1968.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} == Ural Thomas and the Pain == [[File:Ural Thomas and the Pain at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon 03.png|thumb|Ural Thomas and the Pain at the [Doug Fir Lounge](/source/Doug_Fir_Lounge) in 2022]] In the early 2010s Scott Magee, a Portland-based soul DJ, learned via the owner of [Mississippi Records](/source/Mississippi_Records) that Thomas{{mdash}}whose early records he spun{{mdash}}still lived in Portland. Despite having weekly jam sessions in his home, a tradition started in the 1970s, Thomas seldom played live shows.{{Cite web|last=Singer|first=Matthew|date=|title=Soul Revival|url=https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-21467-soul-revival.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Willamette Week|language=en-US}} Together, Thomas and Magee created Ural Thomas and the Pain, an eight-piece backing band for Thomas's vocals. The group has released two full-length albums: 2016's self-titled release and 2018's ''The Right Time'', the latter of which was released on the label [Tender Loving Empire](/source/Tender_Loving_Empire).{{Cite web|first=|date=|title=Ural Thomas & The Pain|url=https://tenderlovingempire.com/collections/ural-thomas-the-pain|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-19|website=Tender Loving Empire|language=en}} The band has played in venues as large as the main stage of the [Waterfront Blues Festival](/source/Waterfront_Blues_Festival).{{Cite web|last=Rosman|first=John|title=5 Picks For 2015 Portland Waterfront Blues Festival|url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/5-picks-for-2015-portland-waterfront-blues-festival/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=www.opb.org|language=en}} Their third album, ''Dancing Dimensions'', was released on [Bella Union](/source/Bella_Union) in June, 2022.{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=Austin |date=2022-03-11 |title=SXSW Music Spotlight: Ural Thomas & the Pain |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2022-03-11/sxsw-music-spotlight-ural-thomas-and-the-pain/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.austinchronicle.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Song of the Week: 'Dancing Dimensions' by Ural Thomas & the Pain |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/arts-and-culture/2022/03/ural-thomas-and-the-pain-dancing-dimensions-song-of-the-week |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Portland Monthly |language=en-US}} == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * [https://www.uralthomasandthepain.com/home Ural Thomas and the Pain] * [https://tenderlovingempire.com/collections/ural-thomas-the-pain Tender Loving Empire: Ural Thomas and the Pain] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ural}} Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Category:Singers from Portland, Oregon Category:American soul singers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ural Thomas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural_Thomas) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural_Thomas?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.