The Persuasions

"Persuasions" redirects here. For the form of social influence, see persuasion.
The Persuasions

The Persuasions, 1972
Background information
Origin Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres R&B, pop, soul
Years active 1969–2003

The Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. They disbanded when their lead singer, arranger and producer Jerry Lawson left in 2003. The current tribute group is calling themselves The Persuasions. That group is composed of 2 original members Jimmy Hayes (bass) and Jayotis Washington (tenor, baritone). Dave Revels is on (lead vocals) and 2 of the rotating members are Cliff Dawson and Raymond Sanders.

The Persuasions became known as The Kings of A Cappella and Jerry Lawson created a most eclectic repertoire for their live shows and 22 albums. Lawson's roots were Gospel and R&B. His taste covered music from the Mills Brothers to Zappa. He chose music of each decade in which they performed and recorded. He also sang the the lead vocal without his group fo rthe TV sitcom ROC starring Charles Dutton. The song was God Bless The Child. They have covered artists such as Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead, Roy Hamilton, Jerry Butler, Sam Cooke, and Elvis Presley, and toured, performed, and recorded with Joni Mitchell, Liza Minnelli, the Grateful Dead, and Ray Charles. In addition to their own recordings, they have appeared on albums by artists such as Joni Mitchell, Don McLean, Phoebe Snow, and Paul Pena, and their version of "Papa Oom Mow Mow" appeared on the soundtrack of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

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.

Toubo Rhoad, one of the original members, died in 1988. In 1990 The Persuasions perform on the PBS TV special Spike Lee & Company – "Do It A Cappella". Lawson left the group in 2003 to pursue a career working with developmentally disabled adults, and later decided to pursue a singing career independent of the group. In 2007, he 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".

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

Sweet Joe Russell died on May 5, 2012.[2]

1971 song Good Times off Street Corner Symphony was sampled by electronic music producer Jamie xx in his 2015 single I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) off In Colour album, featuring rapper Young Thug and dancehall artist Popcaan. The sample sparked controversy when the song was first released, but it was cleared when the record label announced that the group was contacted prior to the song's release.[3]

The current members make up a tribute group to The Persuasions. This tribute group performed on The View in 2015, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The Persuasions' tribute group performed with Barenaked Ladies in New York City's Central Park in June 2016 and again in Toronto in October 2016. Also in October 2016, the tribute group recorded an album with the band consisting of rearranged covers of both band's past songs.[4]

Members

Current lineup for the tribute group to The Persuasions are original members James Hayes and Jayotis Washington. Newer members Cliff Dawson, Raymond Sanders and Dave Revels.

Jerry Lawson original lead singer, arranger and producer is now singing a cappella with Talk of the Town and his only a cappella CD released since leaving The Persuasions is "Jerry Lawson & Talk of The Town". He made his debut as a solo artist accompanied by some of Nashville's finest musicians on RedBeet Records in 2015. "Jerry Lawson Just A Mortal Man" Lawson and his newest release was featured on NPR with host Joel Rose.

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. ↑ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed May 7, 2012
  3. ↑ "Persuasions React to Jamie xx/Young Thug Sampling Their 1972 Song". Billboard.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Barenaked Ladies hit the studio with The Persuasions this weekend

External links

Template:Persuasions, The

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