A Cappella Records

Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop

The Persuasions, the most acclaimed a cappella group in American history, have released their first-ever live-in-concert nightclub album, “The Persuasions Live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop.” Recorded over two nights in 1998 at the famed Santa Monica artist-friendly venue—-“this was home for us on the west coast,” as lead singer/arranger Jerry Lawson put it—-“The Persuasions Live at McCabe’s” features nineteen songs and over 70 minutes of music and banter.

Eclectic as always, The Persuasions cover Sam Cooke, Kurt Weill, Frank Zappa, The Mills Brothers, Elvis, Bobby Bare, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, The Oak Ridge Boys, Nat King Cole, even The Partridge Family (!) and many more artists. From gospel to houserocking R&B to country-western, the songs include: “Chain Gang,” Zappa’s “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” “When Jesus Comes,” Bobby Bare’s classic “500 Miles From Home,” “I Have But One Desire,” Weill’s “Oh Heavenly Salvation,” Cole’s “Ramblin’ Rose,” The Five Royales’ “Come on and Save Me,” the Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira,” and Elvis’s “Return To Sender.” Five of the numbers have never appeared on a Persuasions release before, including their glib, doo-woppy rendition of Livingston and Evans’ “Mona Lisa,” and the hymn, “Peace in the Valley.”

The album will likely be the last new release from the original members of the group: Jerry Lawson, Jimmy Hayes, “Sweet Joe” Russell, and Jayotis Washington. Lawson left The Persuasions in 2003 and pursues independent projects while working as a specialist in health care for disabled adults. Augmenting the original line-up on the recording are newer members B.J. Jones and Raymond X. Sanders, who both joined in the early ‘90’s. “I listened to the album last night. It’s beautiful,” said Lawson. “What a wonderful tribute to The Persuasions and the time I spent with The Persuasions. The years I was in The Persuasions are very special to me, and I’ll always hold them near to my heart. The Persuasions should be very, very proud of this album. . .We came out smokin’!”