Biography:

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

The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their style combined gospel, soul, early rock and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. Since being discovered by Frank Zappa, the Persuasions have recorded 23 albums to date.

Career

The Persuasions appeared on public affairs television shows, such as Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant on WNEW-TV and Like It Is on WABC-TV in 1968. 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. Before that time, the Persuasions had recorded several a cappella tracks for Krause’s record label, Catamount Records.

Zappa appreciated 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 creating a Persuasions tribute CD to Zappa, Frankly A Cappella on Earthbeat Records. In 1990, the Persuasions performed on the PBS TV special Spike Lee & Company – “Do It A Cappella”. The Persuasions later recorded tribute albums consisting of material by the Grateful Dead (Might as Well), and the Beatles (The Persuasions sing the Beatles)

Herbert “Toubo” Rhoad, one of the original members of the Persuasions, died in 1988 while on tour. Raymond Sanders came in as an additional voice.

Sweet Joe Russell died in 2012.

Bass singer James Caldon Hayes died in May 2017.

Jerry Lawson died in July 2019.

Jayotis Washington currently resides in Brooklyn New York.

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

Personnel

Founding members

• Jerry Lawson – tenor, baritone, lead singer, arranger and producer (January 23, 1944, Fort Lauderdale, Florida – July 10, 2019, Phoenix, Arizona)^[1]
• Jimmy ‘Bro’ ‘Mr. Bass Man’ Hayes – bass (November 12, 1943, Hopewell, Virginia – May 18, 2017, New York, New York) ex-elevator operator ^[2][3]
• Joseph Jesse ‘Sweet Joe’ Russell – second tenor (September 25, 1939, Henderson, North Carolina – May 5, 2012, Brooklyn, New York) ex-butcher ^[4][5][6]
• ‘Little’ Jayotis Washington – first tenor, baritone (born May 12, 1941, Detroit, Michigan) ex-plumber ^[7]
• Herbert ‘Toubo’ Rhoad – baritone (October 1, 1944, Bamberg, South Carolina – December 8, 1988, Sacramento, California) ex-shoe salesman ^[8]

Credits: