Carla Thomas's break-out hit, from 1966:
It's an unusual and unforgiving close-up to start with, then after 30 seconds we pull back – and see that she's surrounded by a bunch of hippies, on a beach. We immediately understand why they concentrate on the close-up. She bravely makes the best of it, despite that grumpy kid behind her.
Daughter of Rufus "Walking the Dog" Thomas, Carla wrote this when she was just fifteen:
Although this single would eventually chart within the Top 10 on the pop chart and within the Top 5 on the R&B chart, it had an inauspicious beginning. Initially recorded at the Thomas family home, Rufus shopped the song to Vee-Jay Records in Chicago. Vee-Jay never followed through or actively pursued securing the distribution rights. Because of his belief in the song's potential, Rufus returned to Memphis and in the summer of 1960, Thomas would cut the teen love song that she wrote when she was only 15 years old. The song was released by Rufus and Carla in October 1960, to not much fanfare. However, by February 1961, the song was being distributed nationally through Atlantic Records just as Thomas was in the midst of her first year at Tennessee A&I University in Nashville. The success of the single also propelled Thomas into the spotlight, as she performed on American Bandstand. According to Thomas, “The record was young-sounding, romantic and it expressed what a lot of people wanted to say at that age, but still, I was surprised at how well it did”. Not only did this song provide a launching pad to Thomas' first album, but it also gave Stax Records national exposure and label recognition.
Her greatest musical legacy is probably King and Queen, the 1967 album of duets she did with Otis Redding:
Mick Hartley 
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