PART 3 THE HISTORY OF ACAPPELLA
JERRY LAWSON AND THE PERSUASIONS
Jerry Lawson lead singer of the Persuasions passed away a year ago at the age of 75 on July 10, 2019. A multitude of condolences poured into Julia Lawson, Jerry’s grieving wife, and family. Jerry Lawson, and his original group the Persuasions are the icons of acappella group singing. He is considered by the music industry as the “Godfather of Acappella” and rightly so. No group past or present has brought such acclaim as the original Persuasions. They did it all without a pitch pipe, vocal chopping, beatboxing or any type of vocal gymnastics. When they sang, it was pure harmony the blending of their voices, and Jerry’s sultry voice made things happen. This was the way it was done in the very beginning when acappella appeared, and became a commercialized industry in the 1960s. Sadly, Jerry and his group were considered within the music industry, an enigma or perhaps outsiders in the music business. The reason for this is twofold, acappella was not a money-making business, and no acappella group during the 1960s, and beyond pushed acappella over the edge, the Persuasions did. It was Jerry’s group that awakened acappella on colleges campuses, theatres, concerts, and clubs for the first time as a popular art form. Jerry and the Persuasions did it by demonstrating that vocal group singing can become as popular as other musical genres. He demonstrated that it can be done effortlessly outside the centric portals of universities and organizations. His goal was to stay on course, and appeal to a younger contemporary generation. UNCHAINED
Jerry and his group believed that acappella can fit any musical style. The Persuasions proved it by singing everything from the Grateful Dead, Beatles, R&B, Pop, to Frank Zappa. With Jerry at the helm, he produced 24 albums in his 40-year career as the voice of contemporary acappella. Unfortunately, he left without any significant musical awards even though he was hailed as a national treasure on par with entertainers like Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield, and Jerry Butler. Not only that, he never received the royalties, he and his group so thoroughly deserved. Despite the lack of gratitude, by the music industry as a pioneer, and the absence in paying him the royalties due to him, he pushed forward. Fortunately, Jerry encounter a group from San Francisco called The Talk of the Town and everything changed. Thinking he was no longer going to sing acappella, and start a solo career, the sweet aroma of acappella called him again, and he produced the greatest album ever with Talk of the Town. Between this, and doing gigs with R&B and jazz groups in his adopted city of Phoenix, Arizona, he also began a career working with developmentally disabled adults.
In 2015, at age 71 his baritone pipes honed and honeyed, Lawson released his debut solo album, “Just a Mortal Man,” produced by Nashville’s Grammy-nominated Eric Brace. The album title was in a real sense, his epitaph. While in the hospital for a knee replacement, he developed a lethal infection that nearly took his life. Somehow, he battled back, with body, spirit, and trademark voice intact. With a host of some of Nashville’s finest musicians backing him, Lawson created an elegant, polished work that is a tour-de-force for his one-of-a-kind voice, covering everything from gentle country to rock ‘n’ roll. He co-wrote one of the songs, “Woman in White,” with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, and finally got to do “Just a Mortal Man,” with a band. In 2015, this living legend still at the top of his game began touring behind his first-ever solo album. David McGee-Deep Roots Magazine said the following: “Jerry Lawson is a great stylist with an infallible instinct for the essence of every song he sings. With the Persuasions, Jerry Lawson made many great recordings, but Just a Mortal Man is his finest hour, a master class in basic human emotions in all their complexity and inscrutability”. This statement says it all. Now, with the completion of his documentary film Just a Mortal Man the world will be able to gaze at a humble man, whose roots was not in urban New York but in a small town in Florida. Will Jerry receive the recognition, and royalties he so deserves by the music industry? As of now, time will tell. In the meantime, we can hope and pray that fairness and justice will prevail for a man and his group who have done so much to put contemporary acappella before the public. Perhaps one day some institution will honor him, and present an award in his memory. If anything, he deserves to be remembered for being the voice, and pioneer for contemporary acappella.
Abraham J. Santiago
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