COVID-19 takes life of Jo Thompson, jazz singer who broke racial barriers in performance halls

Jo Thompson was among the very first Black artists able to perform in several clubs throughout the country

Mar 14, 2021

Jo Thompson, an acclaimed singer and musician of Detroit, has died at age 92. While her name is not mentioned with the titans of Jazz, she helped break the color barrier at many nightclubs and performance venues where such legends would later take stage.

As reported by The Detroit News, Thompson was among the very first Black artists able to perform in several clubs throughout the country, particularly in Miami’s nightclub circuit. She was among the first Detroit female performers to play at New York City’s Cafe Carlyle, along with recently departed Supremes singer Mary Wilson and Broadway star Elaine Stritch.

According to her son, journalist Greg Dunmore, Thompson was the first artist to perform the popular American standard, “For Once in My Life.” The song reached national consciousness thanks to recorded versions by Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder.

Detroit jazz singer Jo Thompson (via screenshot)

“My mom was called ‘The Fabulous Ms. Jo Thompson’ because she was an elegant lady who was not an elitist,” Dunmore said. “She clearly understood glamour, grace and humility are what gives you true class and sophistication!”

Thompson disclosed the segregation she experienced when she was a young artist during a 2013 interview.

“While performing at the Cork Club in Miami, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner came in to see me,” she said. “Now, you must remember this was during the time of great prejudice and discrimination. Even as the star, I was not permitted to sit with the white people who patronized the club.”

She continued by recalling that Sinatra approached her and asked her to join his party following her set. “When I told his manager (or whoever it might have been that asked me on behalf of Sinatra to join him) that I really couldn’t, he said I better!”

Thompson was an accomplished singer and pianist. According to JazzJewelsTV electronic press kit (EPK), she was known as the “piano-playing Lena Horne,” as well as a “singing Hazel Scott” and a “female Bobby Short.” She was best known for singing and playing show tunes and jazz standards, which was customary for vocalists at the time, including Sinatra, Bennett and Shirley Bassey.

In the EPK, she stated she knew Horne well, and counted luminaries like Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie among her “mentors.”

Thompson was an active performer well into her 80s. Although she took a long hiatus to raise her three sons, she returned to the road in 1989 following the death of her husband, journalist Al Dunmore.

Thompson passed away in Montclair, New Jersey, after contracting COVID-19. Three week prior to her death, her brother, Dr. Walter Thompson, also succumbed to complications of COVID-19.

In addition to Greg, she is survived by her other sons, Jonathan and Stephen Dunmore, as well as stepdaughters, Ruth Williams and Charlotte Vaughan, and three grandchildren.