Persuasions

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Persuasions' Bio: The Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid 1960s. They have performed interpretations of both secular and non-secular music, and have covered a wide range of musical genres.

The five original members a re lead singer, arranger, and producer Jerry Lawson, Jesse "Sweet Joe" Russell, Jayotis Washington, Herbert "Toubo" Rhoad, and bassman Jimmy "Bro" Hayes.

The Persuasions can be categorized as an a cappella group that has covered gospel and popular music of each decade in which they performed and recorded. They have covered artists as varied as Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead, Roy Hamilton, Jerry Butler, Sam Cooke, and Elvis Presley, and toured, performed, and recorded with Joni Mitchel l, 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, and Paul Pena, and their version of "Papa Oom Mow Mow" appears on the soundtrack of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Frank Zappa was responsible for The Persuasions' first LP, Acappella. 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 legendary doo-wop / acapella label. Catamount Records. Zappa had a great appreciation for soul and streetcorner-style singing, and imme diately after hearing the group, flew them to Los Angeles to record their first album. 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.

T he Persuasions later recorded tribute albums consisting of material by the Grateful Dead (Might as Well), the Beatles (The Persuasions sing the Beatles), and U2 (The Persuasions Sing U2). Their constant eclectic choice of material, as well as the clever, uniqu e direction of their arrangements, have been hallmarks of their live work and recordings since their earliest days.

Toubo Rhoad, one of the original members, died in 1988. 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. I n December 2010, Jerry Lawson and Talk of The Town were featured on Series 2 of Sing-Off.

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

The current group members (as of 2010) consist of two orig inal Persuasions, Joe Russell and Jimmy Hayes, rounded out by newer members Dave Revels (2009) and Ray Sanders (since 1996). Willie C. Daniels also performed with the group for a number of years. Dave Revels joined the group officially in 2009 and has since ta ken over the role of arranger and producer for the group's recordings. He arranged the U2 CD on Chesky records and their latest CD on ZOHO Label, Knockin' On Bob's Door, the music of Bob Dylan. Long-time contributor on many of the group's recording "B.J.& quot; Jones still performs and records with the group. Reggie Moore and Gil Torres are among the vocalists who have filled in since Lawson went solo. The original Persuasions appeared with Ray Charles in Blue's Big Musical Movie (2000). … Read more