Carla Thomas – Gee Whiz CD (Hallmark)

Fifteen year old Carla Thomas was interested in not only singing but writing too, penning a number of songs that her family, in particular her father Rufus Thomas felt might be worth taking to record companies. According to folklore, Gee Wiz was one of several offered to Vee-Jay Records and turned down, with Carla eventually appearing in 1960 with a duet with her father Rufus, Cause I Love You that was picked up by Satellite Records (subsequently to become Stax) and then Atlantic for national distribution. Then came Gee Wiz. Following the huge success of the self-composed single Gee Wiz (a #10 pop and #5 R&B hit), Stax quickly hauled Carla Thomas into the recording studio to work on her debut album. At that point, Stax itself hadnt fully established its own sound, resulting in the Gee Wiz album being a much more pop orientated collection than later offerings. That does not diminish the quality of the material on show. Alongside the title track, Carla was responsible for writing a further three of the albums twelve tracks, one in conjunction with Chips Moman, whilst Rufus Thomas also contributed a track. The rest of the album sees Carla tackling standard pop fare, including The Masquerade Is Over and Dance With Me.