Jerry Lawson & Talk of The Town

Oakland, CA

Soul singer extraordinaire Jerry Lawson is a national vocal treasure on par with Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, Jerry Butler and Nat King Cole. As the former lead singer, arranger and producer of The Kings of A cappella The Persuasions, Lawson’s fans and collaborators have included Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, the Grateful Dead,Liza Minnelli and four generations of vocal groups. Through it all, The Persuasions’ sound was defined by Lawson’s sweet and smoky baritone, his effortlessly organic vocal arrangements and his electrifying stage charisma. Modern groups such as Take 6, Rockapella, The Nylons and Boyz II Men have cited Jerry Lawson’s soulful vocals and one of a kind arrangements as major influences.

Jerry started on his path to becoming a legend in Brooklyn, NY, where he and the other four original Persuasions began a 40-year career together. In 1969 Frank Zappa heard The Persuasions singing live over the phone in a New Jersey record shop, picked his jaw up off the ground and promptly flew the group to Los Angeles to record their first album titled A Cappella. Thus began a 22 album recording career that focused on R&B, soul standards & pop but also included full album tributes to Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead and The Beatles, and even an acclaimed children’s album.

When Lawson left the group in 2003, to focus on working with Jazz and R&B bands, he thought he was done with A cappella forever," but an unexpected collaboration with San Francisco vocal group Talk of The Town yielded a sensational A cappella album, which Jerry considers to be the masterpiece of his career. Talk of The Town’s exceptional harmony is even richer with Jerry bringing out their very best.

Currently Jerry is very busy working with developmentally disabled adults in Phoenix Arizona, producing music for songwriters, collaborating with artists on a variety of projects, performing with Jazz trios, R&B bands and of course his new A cappella group. And right now is the most exciting time for them all because A Cappella, the black sheep of music genres is coming to NBC’s The Sing Off" for a second season and they are going to have a chance to show the world what the roots of A Cappella sound like. And the roots are quite soulful!

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