Mardi Gras day is a week away, and this has been a Carnival season unlike many others. Parades are canceled, and people are being discouraged from gathering with friends and extended family to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
But that does not stop the Mardi Gras spirit, and everyone has a few favorite memories. The Grammy award singer Irma Thomas certainly has some, and she shared several with Scoot.
“One I can remember, I guess in 1947, I was six years old; and we lived in an area where Mardi Gras passed right in front of the house,” Thomas said. “I had a chance to see Louis Armstrong as King Zulu.
Watch Scoot and Irma's full interview below.
“When I was growing up, it was a situation where you lived in certain neighborhoods,” Thomas continued. “Certain Carnival clubs passed the neighborhood, so you really didn't have to go anywhere other than stand out on the sidewalk and watch it go by. It wasn't until later years when it started being more directed to certain main streets as opposed to certain neighborhoods.”
Many only experience Mardi Gras from the crowds, but Thomas has had the honor of riding in parades numerous times over her illustrious career.
“I rode in my very Mardi Gras parade for the Krewe of Zeus, which was a Metairie Carnival club,” Thomas said. “It was a very cold night; I remember that. You don't forget them cold ones.”
Zeus was her first time riding, but it is ended up being just one of many times. She rattled off a bunch of other parades she's been in.
“And then later on, I also had the pleasure of riding in Endymion,” Thomas said. “I've riden in Zulu. And I've been the Grand Marshal of Femme Fatale. I've been the Grand Marshal for Krewe du Vieux.”
As you'd expect, being in the floats is an entirely different experience from watching them, particularly when you're famous.
“It's very unique,” Thomas said. “You think you're going to recognize your family and friends along the way, but with the noise, especially when you're a celebrity and they know you, you hear your name called from all directions. So it's kind of difficult to know where they are. Unless you pre-arrange a corner to look for, it's very difficult for you to be found because everybody's yelling out your name.
Having so many people trying to get your attention leads to another problem: there are more people out there than you have items to throw.
“And, of course, they're begging for the trinkets you're throwing,” Thomas said. “They beg, and you almost don't want to not give it to them. It took me a few times to learn how to be sparingly throwing things to last the entire parade.
“My first few parades I rode in, by the time it got to the main street, I was out of throws,” Thomas went on. “I was trying to throw to everybody. You definitely have to ration.”
She also shared one memory where she felt slightly embarrassed.
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“The only [time was a] parade I rode in where the Clydesdales had to stop, so I could use the restroom,” Thomas said. “The thing about it [is] they don't inform you when you're asked to ride in the parade. They don't give you a lot of pre-information so you'll be ready for it. They just ask you to ride and assume you know what's going to happen, but you don't always know. Fortunately later on in the years when I was asked to ride, there was a facility on-board that I could use so if I needed to go, I didn't have to get off or hold up the parade to do so.”
All that said, Thomas still loved her experiences riding.
“It's all about having fun,” she said. “And you enjoy being in the parade as much as the folks who are there to see you in the parade. You say, 'Oh, I don't want to be bothered.' But then when get up there, the adrenaline flows as if you're up there doing a performance as a singer. The adrenaline is there. You get so excited seeing all the masses who turn out to view the parade. Now, whether or not they're coming to see you as an individual, you are part of the parade. So the adrenaline is there. It doesn't matter whether they're coming to see you or whoever.”
There are no parades to ride in nor floats to ride on this year. However, people around the region have been carrying on the spirit, turning their houses into floats; and one such house float honors Thomas herself.
“I feel very blessed to have been honored in this way,” she said. “The couple who took the time to show their love for me and my talent speaks volumes. The lady is a nurse that makes it all the more special that she took the time she could be resting to do this. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and respect. Thanking her for her service that’s awesome being a nurse is awesome.”