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Who Was Evelyn Thomas? Remembering '80s Iconic Dance Music Star Amid Her Demise At 70
Evelyn Thomas, renowned for her hit dance tracks like High Energy, has passed away at 70. Explore her influential career and enduring legacy in the world of music below!
Evelyn Thomas, a popular name in the ‘80s dance scene courtesy of her smash numbers High Energy, Weak Spot, and more, has died at age 70. The news of her demise was confirmed by her long-time collaborator and mentor Ian Levine on social media. No cause of death was listed.
“It’s hard for me to accept that my lifelong protégé really has left us,” Levine wrote on X. “Her music will outlive us all,” he added.
For those wishing to get better acquainted with Thomas' legacy, you will find elaborate insight into her life and career below.
Who was Evelyn Thomas? The powerhouse vocalist helped define high-octave dance numbers
Born on August 22, 1953, in Chicago, Thomas stepped foot into the music industry in 1975, when Levine discovered her. Her debut single Weak Spot became an instant hit, peaking at No. 26 on the U.K. singles chart in 1976, per Billboard. The singer’s career, however, skyrocketed with the release of High Energy in 1984, with the track reaching No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song, written and co-produced by Levine and Fiachra Trench, dominated the clubs in the mid-1980s.
High Energy continues to resonate with both new and previous generations, amassing 15 million streams on Spotify as of 2024.
Watch High Energy HERE!
Following the chart triumph with High Energy, Thomas maintained a steady career with a rendition of The Supremes’ Reflections and How Many Hearts. Both tracks feature on her final studio album, Standing at the Crossroads (1986). I Wanna Make It On My Own (1978) and High Energy (1984) are her other two albums.
Levine and Thomas had reportedly composed a song recently, but the latter was ultimately too ill to record it, the former noted in his tribute post for Thomas. Titled Inspirational, The singer's daughter, recording artist YaYa Diamond, will help record the track as a tribute to her mother, he added.
YaYa Diamond details how she found out about her mother’s passing
Confirming her devastating loss, YaYa, in a Facebook post, detailed that her husband was the one to pass on the message of Thomas’ death to her as she wasn’t available to take the call herself. “The legacy that my mother left me is beyond words and the memories are undeniably beyond any monetary value,” the singer added alongside two pictures of her and her mother holding hands in her final moments.
Thomas, full name Ellen Lucie Thomas, breathed her last in Port Charlotte, Florida, according to an online obituary for her.
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