Evelyn Thomas, the singer who elevated the disco subgenre of hi-NRG, has died at age 70. Thomas’ longtime collaborator, Ian Levine, shared the news on Sunday (July 21) in a lengthy Facebook post.

Evelyn Thomas was born in Chicago in 1953 and was raised in a musical family. After moving to New York to pursue an acting career, Thomas began singing in musicals including Les Miserables and The Wiz ...