Song:The Jesus Song
Album:You're All I Want For Christmas
If you're looking for a Christmas album that you can listen to all year long, you might want to check out this 1997 album by the legendary a capella group The Persuasions. I have been a fan since the 60s. Their mottos are "You can do anything with a capella" and "We still ain't got no band". Like most doo wop groups, The Persuasions started out singing on New York street corners. Frank Zappa was the first to record them. Zappa was a big doo wop fan. In the 70s they recorded for Capitol, A&M, Elektra and MCA. None of those labels could figure out how to sell them. In the late 70s they moved to roots music label Rounder Records and that was a better fit. In the 90s The Persuasions moved to Bullseye Blues. By this time Jerry Lawson was still lead singer along with Jayotis Washington, Joe Russell and Jimmy Hayes. Hubert "Toubo" Rhoad died in 1988. Though Lawson wrote The Jesus Song, the other songs on this album are all Christmas standards. Soon after this album, The Persuasions recorded a series of tribute albums to Zappa, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles and U2. Jerry Lawson left The Persuasions in 2007 to form Talk Of The Town. They were featured on the NBC series The Sing Off. Lawson released his first solo album in 2015. Joe Russell died in 2012 and Jimmy Hayes died in 2017. But they continue with lead singer Dave Revels. In 2017 they recorded an album with Barenaked Ladies. Here's a video for The Jesus Song by The Persuasions.
No comments:
Post a Comment