John Michael Thomas (born December 3, 1949) is an American rock singer, and he is best known as one of the lead vocalists of Jefferson Starship and Starship.
Early life
Thomas was born in Cairo, Georgia, on December 3, 1949.[1][2] He was inspired to pursue a career in music after traveling to Atlanta with longtime childhood friends Charles Connell and Tommy Verran to see a Beatles performance in 1965.[1] Thomas, Connell, and Verran formed their first band together; Verran was the lead vocalist. They disbanded while attending different colleges, but later reformed in the early 1970s along with friend Bud Thomas as the Jets.
Thomas was the vocalist for the Lords of London, a garage band from Douglas, Georgia, for a brief time, along with guitarist Billy Folsom, bassist Bob Hutchinson, keyboardist Billy Corbi, and drummer Troy Blasingame.[3]
Career
Elvin Bishop Group
While singing lead for the Jets in 1974, Thomas joined the Elvin Bishop Group as a backing vocalist and eventually made it to lead vocals. He sang lead vocals on the 1975 Elvin Bishop single "Silent Night" and the 1976 single "Spend Some Time", but his best-known achievement was singing on Bishop's chart hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love", a #3 single in 1976.[1]
Jefferson Starship & Starship
Starship featuring Mickey Thomas in Boston, in June 2012
Thomas recorded the solo album As Long as You Love Me in 1976. After leaving the Elvin Bishop Group, he recorded three songs for the 1978 film Skateboard, which also featured a cameo by Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico. In April 1979, Thomas was asked to join that group after the departure of Marty Balin and Grace Slick.[4] In 1981 he recorded his second solo album, Alive Alone.[5] Former Elvin Bishop Group drummer Donny Baldwin became drummer for Jefferson Starship two years later when Aynsley Dunbar left.[2]
Thomas spent most of the early 1980s as the main vocalist of Jefferson Starship, performing several duets with Slick (who rejoined in 1981) and gaining greater influence in the band.[2] After Paul Kantner left in 1984, Thomas was leader of the band.[2] Kantner sued over the name of Jefferson Starship, and the settlement left the band with the name Starship.[6][7][8] From 1985 until 1989 the band had three #1 hit songs.[9] When Slick left again in 1988, Thomas sang all lead vocals. The 1989 "Love Among the Cannibals" tour was postponed after Baldwin attacked Thomas in a bar. The damage was such that it required facial reconstruction surgery. Baldwin resigned after the incident.[10]
Starship featuring Mickey Thomas
Starship featuring Mickey Thomas in 2010
Starship was let go by their record label RCA and became inactive in 1991.[11] In early 1992, Mickey Thomas revived Starship as Starship featuring Mickey Thomas and touring has continued with this title.[12][13] The band's Loveless Fascination was released on September 17, 2013. The band performed at the Streamy Awards on September 8, 2014.[14]
In 1985, Thomas appeared on The Heavenly Kid soundtrack performing the song "Two Minute Love". In 1986, he recorded the song "Stand in the Fire" for the Rob Lowe hockey movie Youngblood. Thomas recorded the title song for the 1989 film Sing. He appeared in the 1989 film Dream a Little Dream and recorded the film's title song and its duet version with Mel Tormé for the soundtrack. The duet version was also played during the end of the film.
In 1987, Thomas recorded "Only the Fool Survives" with Donna Summer for her album All Systems Go. Their duet was released as the album's second single.
In 2002, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas re-recorded a selection of the Starship and Jefferson Starship hits on which he had appeared. The resulting album was released in 2003 as Forever Gold, part of a series of releases by St. Clair Entertainment Group. These recordings have been licensed to several labels, resulting in the release of Starship – Greatest Hits (Delta Records) and Starship – Greatest Hits (Brilliant Records). The original release of these recordings was as Starship – Greatest and Latest, available outside the U.S. only, and including both a CD and DVD.
In 2004, he released an album project, under the title of Over the Edge, produced by Fabrizio Grossi. In 2008, he recorded a new album with Aynsley Dunbar for Direct Music, featuring artists such as Jake E. Lee, former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. Thomas reunited with Elvin Bishop when Starship closed for them in late 2008.
In November 2010, Thomas announced on his website that a new Starship album, Loveless Fascination, would be released in late summer or early fall of 2011; the album was eventually released in September 2013. In July 2011, Thomas released Marauder, a solo project covering songs originally recorded by other artists.[citation needed]
^Sonneborn, Liz (2002). A to Z of American Women in the Performing Arts(SLICK, GRACE (Grace Wing)). p. 195. ISBN0-8160-4398-1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020. Slick sang supporting vocals on the band's mid-decade top 40 hits 'We Built This City' (1985), 'Sara' (1986), and 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' (1987) before quitting again in 1988
