COVID-19 Takes Life of Jo Thompson, Jazz Singer Who Broke Racial Barriers in Performance Halls

Thompson was one of the first Black artists to perform in several clubs throughout the country.

What We Know:

• Jo Thompson’s career as a jazz artist and pianist spanned more than 6 decades. Throughout her time performing, she was hailed as the “piano-playing Lena Horne,” a “singing Hazel Scott,” and a “female Bobby Short.” She was known for singing jazz standards and show tunes in the same manner as vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and Tony Bennet.
• Thompson made her name by performing in nightclubs. She was among the first African-American performers to sing at Miami’s nightclubs. She was also one of Detroit’s only women to perform at New York’s Cafe Carlyle, alongside Mary Wilson from the Supremes and Elaine Stritch. According to her son, journalist Greg Dunmore, she was the first person to sing “For Once in My Life,” a song later popularized by Stevie Wonder.
• In 2013, Thompson recalled performing in a segregated society for New York Daily News. She said that Sinatra and Ava Gardner came to see her perform at Miami’s Cork Club, but she was not able to sit with them. Sinatra asked Thompson to join his party after her performance, but she carefully denied it. However, Sinatra ensured she would be able to tag along.

“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!” she stated.

• Thompson took a hiatus from music for three decades to raise her children, Greg, Jonathan, and Steven. She returned to the microphone in 1989 after the death of her husband, Al Dunmore. She began singing again with the J.C. Heard Orchestra under the management of Walt Syzmanski. She also did a concert in Madrid, Spain, in the 1990s, where she included 16 Spanish songs. Thompson said it is not necessary for artists to speak a country’s language for praise because music is a universal language.
• On March 10, 2021, Thompson passed away at her home in Montclair, New Jersey, after contracting COVID-19. She was 92. Her death comes only three weeks after her brother, Dr. Walter Thompson, also succumbed to the coronavirus.

Thompson’s three children, two stepdaughters, Ruth Williams and Charlotte Vaughan, and three grandchildren are her legacy. Greg Dunmore says a memorial service will be held later this year.