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The Persuasions were an American a cappella group that formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1962, singing 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 released 23 studio albums to date.
The Persuasions
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The Persuasions in 1972
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | A cappella |
| Years active |
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| Past members |
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The Persuasions appeared on public affairs television shows, such as Inside Bedford-StuyvesantonWNEW-TV and Like It IsonWABC-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.
In the liner notes to the 2003 album, A Cappella Dreams, the group revealed their musical influences:
Steven Spielberg included the Persuasions' cover of Papa Oom Mow Mow in his film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.[9]
The following various artists recordings contained otherwise unissued Persuasions recordings: