Persuasions Co-founder Jerry Lawson Dead at 75
Jerry Lawson, co-founder, arranger and baritone lead singer for a cappella group the Persuasions, has died.
Lawson, who was 75, died July 10 in a Phoenix hospice, the singer’s friend and sometimes producer Rip Rense said in a post on Lawson’s Facebook page.
During their long career, Lawson and the Persuasions “took a cappella from doo wop into a new era," said Deke Sharon, founder of the Contemporary A Cappella Society.
"(Lawson) kept a cappella alive during the ’70s, setting up today’s resurgence and inspired generations of singers with his voice and his soul. His legacy cannnot be overstated."
Discovered by Frank Zappa and signed to his label in 1970, the Persuasions went on to record 25 albums, including tributes to Zappa, the Beatles and the Grateful Dead. They backed Joni Mitchell on the 1979 tour that resulted in 1980’s Shadows and Light LP.
“Jerry Lawson and his mates were a joy to work with,” David Gans, who co-produced 2000’s the Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead with Lawson, wrote on Facebook.
Lawson left the Persuasions, who continue to perform, in 2002 and moved to Phoenix, where he cared for disabled adults. He released his only solo album, Just a Mortal Man, in 2015.
He was “a legendary singer and a lovely man,” Gretchen Peters tweeted of Lawson.