The Persuasions

The Persuasions

The Persuasions, 1972
Background information
Origin Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres A cappella

The Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s.

Career

Frank Zappa was responsible for The Persuasions' first LP, Acappella.[1] He heard The Persuasions singing over the phone from a New Jersey record shop known as Stan's Square Records. The store's owner, Stan Krause, was the group's manager at the time. Prior to that time, The Persuasions had recorded several a cappella tracks for Krause's record label, Catamount Records. Zappa had an appreciation for soul and street corner style singing, and after hearing the group, flew them to Los Angeles to record their first album. The Persuasions were the opening act at The Mothers concerts at Carnegie Hall, 1971. Thirty years later, Zappa fan Rip Rense supervised and encouraged the group in the creation of a Persuasions tribute CD to Zappa, Frankly A Cappella on Earthbeat Records.

The Persuasions later recorded tribute albums consisting of material by the Grateful Dead (Might as Well), the Beatles (The Persuasions sing the Beatles). The last album they made together prior to Lawson's departure was on the Chesky label titled A Cappella Dreams.

Herbert "Toubo" Rhoad, one of the original members of The Persuasions, died in 1988 while on tour. In 1990, The Persuasions performed on the PBS TV special Spike Lee & Company – "Do It A Cappella".

In 2007 Jerry Lawson released his first post-Persuasions a cappella CD with his new group, Jerry Lawson and Talk of The Town. Lawson considers this the masterpiece of his a cappella career. In December 2010, Jerry Lawson and Talk of The Town were featured on Series 2 of NBC's The Sing-Off. Lawson was invited back on season 3 as a featured guest without Talk of the Town. He was accompanied by 16 cast members, performing the Arthur Conley hit (written by Sam Cooke) "Sweet Soul Music". In 2015 he released his debut as a solo artist, "Jerry Lawson Just A Mortal Man," with some of Nashville's finest musicians on Red Beet Records. It was featured on NPR with host Joel Rose. [2]

Groups as varied as Take 6, Rockapella, The Nylons, and Boyz II Men cite The Persuasions as major influences. [3]

"Sweet" Joe Russell died on May 5, 2012.[4]

 Jimmy Hayes, born on 12 November 1943, Hopewell, Virginia, died on 18 May 2017 at age 73.[5]

Influences

In the liner notes to the 2003 album, A Cappella Dreams, the group revealed their musical influences:

Discography

Albums

Non-album singles

The following various artists recordings contained otherwise unissued Persuasions recordings:

References

  1. ↑ http://thepersuasions.info/The_Persuasions_History.html
  2. ↑ http://www.npr.org/2015/05/03/403290204/soul-singer-jerry-lawsons-just-a-mortal-man-almost-came-true
  3. ↑ - accessed April 19, 2017
  4. ↑ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed May 7, 2012
  5. ↑ "Mr. Jimmy "Bro" Hayes - Obituary". Petersburg, Virginia: Bland and Tucker Funeral Home. Retrieved 2017-05-26.

www.thepersuasions.info

List of albums, with labels
Title Album Details
Acappella
  • Released: 1970
  • Label: Reprise/Straight [CD issue: Engima Retro; CD reissue: Collectables]
We Came To Play
  • Released: 1971
  • Label: Capitol [CD issue: Collectables]
Street Corner Symphony
  • Released: 1971
  • Label: Capital [CS issue: Collectables]
Spread The Word
  • Released: 1972
  • Label: Capital [CD issue: Collectables
We Still Ain't Got No Band
  • Released: 1973
  • Label: MCA
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.