Jesse “Babyface” Thomas (February 3, 1911 – August 13, 1995) was an American Louisiana blues guitarist and singer from Logansport. Known also as “Mule” and “The Blues Troubadour,” Thomas was the brother of bluesman Willard “Ramblin’” Thomas and the uncle of guitarist Lafayette Thomas. Thomas launched his recording career with the song “Blue Goose Blues” for Victor in 1929. During the 1940s and 1950s, Thomas was based in Los Angeles, where he recorded for Specialty Records and operated the Club record label. Thomas returned to Shreveport in the late 1950s and established the Red River label in the mid-1960s. His career spanned eight decades, including a performance at the Long Beach Blues Festival in 1994. Thomas’s discography featured the albums Lookin' for That Woman (1996) and Blues Is a Feeling (2001). Thomas died in the Lakeside neighborhood of Shreveport.
