Biography
Gospel singer, musician, composer, missionary, and ordained minister Donn Thomas experienced rebirth at nine after physicians determined he suffered from terminal spinal meningitis. His mother’s prayers sustained him while he sensed a divine summons to ministry; he responded and regained full health. Childhood companion and sweetheart LaVoughn offered steady support through difficult stretches, and the pair wed in 1972.
Thomas had long wished to capture the music he carried internally. A fortuitous encounter with David Diggs made that vision attainable. Although Thomas had already composed material and cut demos, Diggs refined the approach and obtained a contract with Myrrh Records.
Diggs oversaw Thomas’s pair of Myrrh releases, Live Wires and You’re the One. Both album covers portray a youthful, vigorous Thomas in fashionable attire, while the inner sleeve of Live Wires shows him alongside LaVoughn. Seeking mainstream exposure, Diggs handled production, arrangements, and keyboard work, co-writing several tracks. He assembled elite Los Angeles session players—including Dave Boruff, Paul Jackson Jr., Ed Greene, Jim Keltner, and the Seawind Horns—to back Thomas. Although commercial results fell short, Thomas continued issuing recordings on multiple labels, among them Urban Hope and Real People.
He joined the Promise Keepers worship team and performed at events such as the Promise Keepers gathering in Memphis, TN, in 1996 and the Congress on the Urban Family in Atlanta, GA, in 1977. As an ordained minister with the Church of God in Christ, Thomas and LaVoughn resided in Stone Mountain, GA, where he maintained concert activity with his ensemble, the Praise Band.
Thomas had long wished to capture the music he carried internally. A fortuitous encounter with David Diggs made that vision attainable. Although Thomas had already composed material and cut demos, Diggs refined the approach and obtained a contract with Myrrh Records.
Diggs oversaw Thomas’s pair of Myrrh releases, Live Wires and You’re the One. Both album covers portray a youthful, vigorous Thomas in fashionable attire, while the inner sleeve of Live Wires shows him alongside LaVoughn. Seeking mainstream exposure, Diggs handled production, arrangements, and keyboard work, co-writing several tracks. He assembled elite Los Angeles session players—including Dave Boruff, Paul Jackson Jr., Ed Greene, Jim Keltner, and the Seawind Horns—to back Thomas. Although commercial results fell short, Thomas continued issuing recordings on multiple labels, among them Urban Hope and Real People.
He joined the Promise Keepers worship team and performed at events such as the Promise Keepers gathering in Memphis, TN, in 1996 and the Congress on the Urban Family in Atlanta, GA, in 1977. As an ordained minister with the Church of God in Christ, Thomas and LaVoughn resided in Stone Mountain, GA, where he maintained concert activity with his ensemble, the Praise Band.
Albums