Mickey Thomas gained his first taste of fame when he sang for southern blues/funk guitarist Elvin Bishop, and they scored their biggest hit with the classic “Fooled Around and Fell In Love.” Thomas continued to make great music with Bishop for a few years, then hooked up with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick to form the original Jefferson Starship, where he scored again vocalizing the classic rock staple “Jane.” Thomas stayed with the Starship for years, racking up more hits like “We Built This City,” until the band finally disintegrated after about a zillion personnel changes.

Thomas sank into obscurity over the last decade or so, until now, surfacing with a band of heavy studio players called The Bluesmasters. Their debut album, “The Bluesmasters featuring Mickey Thomas,” enlists Tim Tucker, who produces and plays guitar, Doug Lynn on harp, Danny Miranda on bass, Ric Ulsky on B3 organ, and the incredible Aynsley Dunbar (Frank Zappa, Jefferson Starship, etc.) on drums.

Thomas’ voice is in fine form, still hitting those crystal-clear high notes and rocking the house with his energetic delivery. Punching through classics like the Big Joe Turner rocker “Cherry Red,” Muddy Waters staples “Rock Me Baby” and “Can’t Get No Grindin’,” and the uber-classic “I’d Rather Go Blind,” the band establishes that they are a blues band to be reckoned with. The band elaborates further with a powerful version of Robert Johnson’s oft-covered “Walkin’ Blues,” and a retelling of the aforementioned first hit, “Fooled Around and Fell In Love.”

Blues fans will love this album, but this is a great album for rock fans to discover some of the great blues tunes performed by a group of amazing veterans who know and love the blues.

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