Hersal Thomas was born on the 9th September, 1906 in Houston, Texas. He was just one of several musicians in his family, with his brother George Washington Thomas also a skilled piano player and composer, while his sister Sippie Wallace and niece Hociel Thomas were singers of note, so perhaps it was no suprise that he showed an early talent for blues playing and composition.
He recorded a number of sides for Okeh Records in 1925 and 1926 with his most famous track being a favorite of mine, the ‘Suitcase Blues’. He also recorded a session with Hociel Thomas and Louis Armstrong in 1926, including ‘Deep Water Blues’ and ‘Lonesome Hours’.
Hersal Thomas died in 1926 at a very early age of food poisoning, while working at Penny’s Pleasure Inn, in Detroit, Michigan. The exact circumstances of this seem to be unclear, but it was a tragically early death. Despite this, he was a big influence on other pianists and boogie woogie music. Both Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis said that he had been an influence on them. Albert Ammons and Jools Holland – to name a few- have both recorded a version of ‘Suitcase Blues’ and no doubt there are many more.