A couple of years ago a film crew from England came to the  USA to interview entertainers who worked with Frank Zappa.  Frank and his wife Gail played a very important role for me & the Persuasions. Our first album was recorded on his label. I haven’t watched the entire  DVD yet but  the segment on me & The Persuasions  came out very well.  I ‘ll always treasure this piece of my history with Frank. It’s very touching. And I hope all of you Jerry, Persuasions and  Frank fans will purchase this DVD. If you take your time you will find me in the chapters  and the extras and on the biography list too. To this day we are blessed to have the friendship of his wife Gail who recently invited me to sing at the lighting ceremony  on Frank Zappa Day in Baltimore.

I just want to thank Mike Chin for taking the time and interest to interview me and my wife. We’ve never met in person but I hope we have the chance some time. Here is a link to his site and  our interview. We sent him my debut CD with Talk of the Town and he’ll be sharing his thoughts on it down the road. Meantime here is the link to his blog. 

 http://acappellablog.com/interview/acb-interview-jerry-lawson

Here we are in the first week of the new year.  What a blessed year we had. And appearing on The Sing Off was a real special way to end 2011. I lay in bed and watch it on my TiVo every night and I swear when I close my eyes there is no way you can tell there are no instruments other than the  human voice. That arrangement is just too tough as we said when I was comin’ up, now the kids say “off the hook”  – The kids (and I mean no disrespect by calling them kids) are just so talented. I hope I have the opportunity to take them on the road for some special events. Jerry Lawson & The Sing Off All Stars. Sounds real good to me. So many of you  wrote to say you really enjoyed it and many of you wrote to say  that you missed it. So for those of you  that missed it here is a link.  I know Sony made it available on iTunes and Amazon too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKExe_aoclU&feature=related

And thanks to all of you who purchased  “Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town” CD. I hope you enjoy it for years to come and help us teach others about the art of A Cappella.

My wife Julie & I wish you all a safe, healthy & happy 2012 filled with harmony and of course we hope we’ll be performing  near you  in the coming year. I love to hear from you so please drop a note some time. I answer all my email!

mail@jerrylawson.biz

I

Congratulations to  all the   groups who participated in Season 3 of The Sing Off. You were all winners!  I bet  it was more work than you ever imagined. But also a once in a lifetime opportunity full of  fun,  surprises, glam and glitterI’m looking forward to meeting you and makin’ a joyful noise”  together.

And if you have any friends near San Francisco please let them know I’ll be performing  with Talk of The Town the day after Christmas at Yoshis in San Francisco.. They say that tickets need to be reserved ASAP! Hope to meet many more new friends on the road.

In Harmony,

Jerry

Un B lievable!! Still in shock.. How  fortunate  for the Lawsons and the Persuasions and all the Persuasions fans to have lived long enough to see a segment of the entertainment industry acknowledge the black sheep genre of all music categories. NBC TV and  on Prime Time.  Wow! And Sony offering a $200,000 recording contract to  A Cappella singers!  I could have produced at  4 excellent albums with all that! LOL..

Coincidentally this year not one but 2 documentaries have been released celebrating the tragically overlooked art of A Cappella  and Jerry has bits in each of them. The remaining Persuasions also participate in one of them. The first is by filmmaker Keith Lewis and is titled: ”A Lesson In A Cappella”.  Lewis  asks  ” Where Does A Cappella fit in?”  For all it’s rich roots and historical significance and it’s crucial role in the development of popular music it is routinely overlooked by both music historians and the music industry. Why is it that  such fun, uplifting, sing along and deeply moving music is not included in radio land outside of college stations? Congrats to Keith on his first documentary. He is making it available for free to all schools! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u80sNPwMoNI

The 2nd documentary produced by Abe Santiago and Stevie Dunham is titled “Street Corner Harmony” and has just been nominated in the “Best Documentary” category by The Golden Door International Film Festival. It is screening Sunday, October 16th at noon in the Loews Theater, Jersey City, NJ! We are so proud of  Abe & Stevie as this is their first attempt at producing a documentary and it’s a subject very close to their hearts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f-C0Z5X5H8

The Persuasions were told for 30 plus years that there was no market for A Cappella. Many journalists who reviewed Persuasions shows  and even the  record label execs who signed the Persuasions said that A Cappella is nothing more than a novelty act. Who wants to hear 5 guys with no band? Meantime the Persuasions were  traveling the world creating smiles around the globe and were for a very long time the only A Cappella group with continuous recording contracts and never needed a day job! -

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