Let's just get this out of the way.
Ian Thomas is a naturally funny guy. He may even be funnier than his very funny older — by a year — brother, Dave. At least that's what you hear from almost everyone who has spent more than five minutes with him.
But really, that's only a starting point (as it is with Dave too, no doubt!). Ian Thomas is a very accomplished guy: He has been writing, singing and recording songs for more than 40 years; he wrote two best-selling novels,; he worked on more than 20 film scores; he voiced thousands of commercials (who could forget "Snap" the Rice Krispie?); and played Dougie Franklin on The Red Green Show for six seasons (OK, so we're back to "funny" again).
Thomas has also known international success in the music business, starting with his 1973 hit "Painted Ladies." His songs have been covered by a diverse (to say the least) group of artists, ranging from Carlos Santana, America and Chicago to Bette Midler, Anne Murray and Manfred Mann.
Four of his songs — "Painted Ladies," "Hold on," "Pilot" and "Right Before Your Eyes" — received SOCAN Classic Awards for having 100,000 radio plays in Canada.
In the '90s, Thomas wrote and recorded four albums with his superb band, the Boomers. Since 2002, he has been part of the Canadian ensemble Lunch at Allen's, along with Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church and Marc Jordan.
Are you tired yet?
To top it off, Thomas just released an album of brand new songs called Little Dreams. It's his first solo album since 1993 — still at it after all these years.
As expected, Thomas is a very amiable host. He also has some interesting — and not particularly funny — things to say about the music industry today. Worth a listen, in between the laughing.
http://music.cbc.ca/play/Inside-the-Music/My-Playlist-with-Ian-ThomasListen to Inside the Music by clicking the play button and via radio on CBC Radio 2 Sundays at 3 p.m. (3:30 NT) and Radio One on Sundays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).
Ian Thomas's Playlist
1. "Old Man," Neil Young
2. "Get Back," the Beatles
3. "The Look of Love," Diana Krall
4. "Is That All There Is?," Peggy Lee
5. "Fields of Gold," Sting
6. "Nocturne N2," Alain Lefevre
7. "Early Morning Rain," Gordon Lightfoot
8. "You Really Got Me," the Kinks
9. "Both Sides Now," Joni Mitchell
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