Tune in to Experience Talks, our weekly “Radio Magazine for the Experienced Listener,” on Sundays at 5:30 PM PDT on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 N. San Diego, streaming live online, and now syndicated on up to 100 Pacifica Network stations! Experience Talks is produced by the non-profit EngAGE, Inc.
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Sunday 7/21 @ 5:30 PM PT
JERRY LAWSON
with host JOHN SEMPER JR.
We were sad to learn that Jerry Lawson, former baritone lead singer and arranger of the a cappella group The Persuasions, died July 10th following a long illness. He was 75. Full obituary here.
In this 2011 interview, Jerry talks about his early career and the CD, Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town.
JERRY LAWSON fronted the legendary a cappella group, The Persuasions, for nearly 40 years. He led the celebrated quintet as they recorded and toured with numerous artists such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Joni Mitchell, and Frank Zappa. Anyone who had the privilege to hear them knows that their signature sound was defined by Lawson’s sweet and smoky baritone. As music writer Rip Rense put it, “By any fair measure, Lawson is really one of the best singers of the last 50 years — up there with Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Brook Benton, Jerry Butler, Roy Hamilton, and Nat King Cole.”
Lawson says, “In 2003, I had a calling. It was time to branch out and make some dreams come true. As soon as I left the Persuasions, I met Talk of the Town (another a capella group) and we made some beautiful music together,” including the album, Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. In 2011, Jerry and Talk of the Town appeared as contestants on NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” They didn’t win the competition, but millions of people saw them perform on the show. One of them was Eric Brace, a former music journalist at The Washington Post and friend of Lawson’s.
Brace, who had become a full-time musician in Nashville with his own record label, contacted Lawson to see if he wanted to record the solo album that had been a long-postponed dream. The result: Just A Mortal Man, produced by Brace in 2015, with vocals by Jerry Lawson, at age 71. It is available for purchase directly from Red Beet Records, and you can find it on Amazon. Hear an NPR interview (6:58) with Jerry about making Just A Mortal Man. Samples of the songs are at each of the links.
Visit www.facebook.com/JerryLawsonMusic
