Have you discovered Ayo yet? I believe she writes most if not all of the songs she records. She also plays guitar. She's got a very interesting sound & background. Her dad is Nigerian, her mom a gypsy & I think she was raised in Germany & London. Her debut CD "Joyful" did very well. A big hit from that CD is "Down On My Knees".
Jerry & I produced our own version of "Down On My Knees" as a demo just using a karaoke background until we can record it with a jammin' band. My plan was to send it to Ayo's record producer in the hopes of , well who knows what? A recording contract, new management, a chance to work with Ayo? Well I sent it off to her producer realizing it was another long shot in my long list of attempts to get Jerry the recognition he deserves & has earned. Well as Gomer Pyle would have said "surprise, surprise, surprise" Within a few days they called me & hired Jerry to sing on Ayo's next CD! There's much more magic & synchronicity to this story but I will save it for another time.
Ayo's new CD "Gravity At Last" has just been released in Europe & Jerry is on the closing track. The song is titled "Thank You" and Jerry's southern baptist church roots add the perfect flavoring. It's quite apropo considering that we spend each day thanking the powers that be for all that we have. Each other, a roof over us, food to eat, the people & animals we love, our mostly pain free bodies, the adventures we've shared, the opportunities to make someone's day a little brighter & being free from addictions. Amen! Being the sentimental fool that I am this song gives me chill bumps as they say down south & it can bring tears to my eyes.
The version we're sharing here is our own production. We inserted Jerry's "licks" (hums, groans etc) in many spots even though we were not asked to. We did so because we wanted her producer to have many choices of where to place Jerry for the final version. Better to have more to work with than not enough when you've finished the recording session & it's time to mix. Other than Jerry's volume being a bit too loud, which could have been adjusted later, I think we created a hit! Too bad nobody but you bloggers will ever hear our version. They deleted most of what we gave them & also turned Jerry's volume down to a whisper. I'm guessing they thought that too much of Jerry would upstage Ayo. Of course our POV is that when someone gifts you with unique, priceless, sparkling, one of a kind, exceptionally beautiful ornaments that would only enhance the beauty of the Christmas tree why would you keep them stashed in the box?
Julie
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Persuasions & Me Part 1
Hello Bloggers, Jerry here. I just want you to know that I'm not a computer person. My wife Julie is helping me here to share some history, thoughts, news & music with you. We'd like to write a book but we'll begin here & see how it goes. So sometimes she'll be sharing my thoughts & feelings in her own voice & sometimes I'll sit with her & she'll type as I speak. I just have to learn to slow down or she'll have to learn to type faster!
It's true, Jerry does not even know where the power button is on the CPU. I'm pretty sure he will never even learn to email so I help him every day to answer his email or reach out to folks who might be able to help us preserve his legacy & promote his new CD as well as share his recordings during his Persuasions years.
You may or may not have heard of The Persuasions. Jerry was their lead singer, arranger & producer for 40 years and 23 albums. He left them in 2003 for a variety of reasons and they haven't spoken since. I know to many fans this is surprising but the truth is that just because you work with someone or stay married to someone for 40 years, that does not mean you are good friends.
The early years were very exciting for 5 young men who met on a basketball court through friends of friends and as neighbors in Brooklyn's Bed Stuy. As the years went by & their career developed so did the irritations with one another, some spoken some unspoken but none of them resolved. Eventually "That's when the old gray cloud burst"
Three of the original members along with a changing roster of additional voices are out there now still performing and calling themselves The Persuasions. They recorded a CD after Jerry left titled "The Persuasions Sing U-2". But the sound of The Persuasions, the sound that made them recognizable is gone forever. I realize this is a touchy subject. But think of The Pips without Gladys, The Stones without Mick or as one Persuasions fan wrote after seeing the new configuration perform, "Man it was like Thanksgiving without the turkey"
It's true, Jerry does not even know where the power button is on the CPU. I'm pretty sure he will never even learn to email so I help him every day to answer his email or reach out to folks who might be able to help us preserve his legacy & promote his new CD as well as share his recordings during his Persuasions years.
You may or may not have heard of The Persuasions. Jerry was their lead singer, arranger & producer for 40 years and 23 albums. He left them in 2003 for a variety of reasons and they haven't spoken since. I know to many fans this is surprising but the truth is that just because you work with someone or stay married to someone for 40 years, that does not mean you are good friends.
The early years were very exciting for 5 young men who met on a basketball court through friends of friends and as neighbors in Brooklyn's Bed Stuy. As the years went by & their career developed so did the irritations with one another, some spoken some unspoken but none of them resolved. Eventually "That's when the old gray cloud burst"
Three of the original members along with a changing roster of additional voices are out there now still performing and calling themselves The Persuasions. They recorded a CD after Jerry left titled "The Persuasions Sing U-2". But the sound of The Persuasions, the sound that made them recognizable is gone forever. I realize this is a touchy subject. But think of The Pips without Gladys, The Stones without Mick or as one Persuasions fan wrote after seeing the new configuration perform, "Man it was like Thanksgiving without the turkey"
Julie
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