Vaneese Thomas facts for kids

Vaneese Thomas, born on August 24, 1952, is an American singer. She is known for her amazing voice in R&B, jazz, and soul blues music. Her song "Let's Talk It Over" was a big hit in 1987.

Besides her own songs, Vaneese has sung backup for many other musicians. She has performed at famous events like the Montreux Jazz Festival. She was even nominated for two awards at the 36th Blues Music Awards for her album Blues for My Father.

Vaneese Thomas: Her Musical Journey

Vaneese Thomas was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Music runs in her family! Her father, Rufus Thomas, was a famous musician. Her brother, Marvell Thomas, and sister, Carla Thomas, are also talented musicians.

Early Success and Backup Singing

In the late 1980s, Vaneese released her first album, Vaneese Thomas. It had two popular R&B songs: "Let's Talk It Over" and "(I Wanna Get) Close To You". After this, she started working mostly as a backup singer. She lent her voice to many recordings by other artists.

She worked with a long list of famous musicians. Some of them include Joe Cocker, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Eric Clapton.

More Albums and TV Work

In 1998, Vaneese released her second album, When My Back's Against the Wall. Music critics praised it as a "masterpiece."

Vaneese has also used her voice in movies and on TV. She was the singing voice for Grace the Bass on the kids' TV show Shining Time Station. She also sang as Clio the Muse in the Disney movie Hercules. You can hear her voice in movie soundtracks like Anastasia. She has also appeared on TV shows like Late Show with David Letterman.

Behind the Scenes: Songwriting and Producing

Vaneese Thomas is not just a singer. She also writes songs, arranges vocals, and produces music. She has written songs for artists like Patti Austin and Freddie Jackson. Diana Ross had a top 10 hit in the UK with Vaneese's song "One Shining Moment."

Vaneese also helped start the Gospel Choir at Swarthmore College. She used to be a student there.

In 2008, Vaneese and James D-Train Williams won an award. They won the Odyssey Award for narrating the audiobook Jazz by Walter Dean Myers.

Her album Blues for My Father came out in 2013. Vaneese wrote most of the songs on it. One song is a "duet" with her late father. Another song, "Wrong Turn," features her sister, Carla Thomas.

Life Outside Music

Vaneese Thomas lives in Westchester County, New York. She lives there with her husband, Wayne Warnecke. He is also a songwriter and producer. Vaneese once taught at a school in France. More recently, she taught at the City College of New York.

Discography

Albums

Chart singles