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James "Son" Thomas, born 1926 in Eden, Mississippi , was an American Delta blues musician, gravedigger and sculptor. As a child, lacking proper toys, he used to make small Ford tractors of clay to play with, earning James Thomas the nickname "Thirty-seven Ford" in 1937, with became simply "Ford" and later dreaming of a music career, was turned into "Sonny Ford". It was his uncle Joe Cooper who taught him about molding clay, a hobby James Thomas turned into artistry. Filmmaker William R. Ferris made several documentaries with James "Son Thomas" which made him known to the blues crowd. In the 1970s, blues artist Eddie Cusic performed with Thomas at regular engagements, and together they recorded "Once I Had a Car". In later performances, he was accompanied by the Swiss harmonica player Walter Liniger, and his son Pat. James "Son" Thomas was recorded by several small record labels and is probably best known for his album "Gateway to the Delta", recorded by Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 1985, his sculptures was featured in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where he was introduced to Nancy Reagan, then the First Lady. James "Son" Thomas died at the age of 66 in Greenville, Mississippi, from emphysema and a stroke on June 26, 1993. He is buried in Leland and memorialized by a headstone placed in 1996 by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund and paid for by rock musician John Fogerty.
