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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Hi Jerry & Julie!
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled onto your blog from a comment you left on Throw Back Music and wanted to give a shout out from Montreal!
Hopefully you do get a chance to share some more stories since so much of those golden doowop and soul years get forgotten too easily. Look forward to hearing more!
All the best in 2009!
I agree that the Persuasions are not the Persuasions without Jerry. I am hoping that someday there can be a reunion. Some of the most wonderful times of my life were at Persuasions concerts. New Years Eve at the Great American Music Hall in SF was the BEST!
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