The Persuasions

We're gonna sing acapella!

Gospel music - pure, sweet, and soulful - is one of the most ignored yet richest influences in this continent's two hundred fifty years of black music. Central to the music is faith, a release from suffering.
Blues is suffering, and the two forms are so intermingled that they really are one. So it's not surprising to see gospel music or the gospel style of a capella finally come full circle and gain wide acceptance in the rhythm and blues market, its urbanized, modern-day counterpart.
The Persuasions, who have sparked a revived interest in a capella music through their sheerly brilliant work, seem tobe on the verge of popular acclaim.
The very thought of an a capella hit record is startling, but it could happen. And what a relief from the seemingly endless drone of over-produced, under-sung sides that most of today's music industry is so intent on churning out. The Persuasions are not only root music, they are a breath of fresh air.
Of course, all five Persuasions are veterans of countless gospel groups. Sweet Joe Russell, second tenor, started singing in his North Carolina church, and actually had a group together at age twelve, The Southern Echoes. Then it was the New Birth of Gospel Quartet, with Sunday radio programs, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, throughout the South.
Joe met Toubo Rhoad during his many travels, and the two started up another group in 1962, The Parisians. Toubo was of gospel vintage, too. The Friendship Gospel Singers, then the Parisians, and in 1967, in Jersey City with Joe, the Persuasions.
Their show quickly developed into the exciting vocal display that it is today. Mixing gospel and pop tunes into a tasty, far-ranging program, the Persuasions survey the black musical heritage with infinite taste, choosing the best from many styles and traditions: pop, folk, soul, gospel. Their subtle, delicate vocal shadings touch many different moods and emotions, all very soulful. The Persuasions transform Dylan standards into gospel favorites and old hymns into fresh pop material.
The unifying element is the essential blackness of both the material and the performance. This is music bom out of pain, whether it be the loss of a woman friend, loss of faith, or a loss of freedom. And the pure expression of that allows the Persuasions to transcend their rich array of styles and be the originals they are - soul music of the human voice.
But there are many obstacles to this music, most of them AM programmers. The Persuasions consistently steal the show at their live concerts, yet airplay of their magnificent albums continues to be scant. The lack of electronics simply scares most program directors, and as a result this magnificent musical tradition goes on undiscovered.
The group's recording career has been varied, to say the least. Their initial release, on Frank Zappa's Straight label, wasn't even intended to be an album. Zappa was so impressed that he decided to release the tape, of a live performance. Three albums followed on Capítol Records, all masterpieces, none of them big sellers. And then an LP for MCA. All fïve albums contained nothing more than five beautiful voices, and a dazzling array of contemporary and traditional music.
Although the Persuasions will appear a cappella at the Festival, their new release on A&M features Stevie Wonder's band on an entire side. It's quite plain and simply an attempt to reach the mass audience the group deserves. The four-piece band cooks quietly in the background, adding rhythmic punch to a soulfully swinging performance.
The Persuasions must be aware of the tremendous white interest in black music of all kinds -jazz, blues, r & b, that seems to increase daily. The time is ripe for another "return to the roots" in popular music. It was Chuck Berry who taught us what rock and roll really was, the Beatles who reminded us when we forgot. Perhaps it will be the Persuasions that bring us back to soul music in its purest form again, this time to stay. There are not five better voices to lead the crusade.

-Jim Dulzo