The Persuasions

The Persuasions were born in Brooklyn in 1962, singing A cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their voices powerfully echoed through their urban terrain, weaving gospel, soul, early rock, doowop and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. Since being discovered by Frank Zappa, The Persuasions have recorded 26 albums to date featuring their uniquely reimagined arrangements of music by Frank Zappa, U2, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and, most recently Barenaked Ladies and Steven Van Zandt.

Their fans are consistently treated to a vocal buffet of soulful, harmonic and joyful tracks free of any instrumental enhancements, with the exception of their critically acclaimed masterful collaboration with Canadian rock group, Barenaked Ladies in 2016. A stand out on that album is the instrumentalized version of their classic hit, "Good Times" hailed by many as a 'summer feel good, laying on the beach, driving with the Top down song.' Jayotis Washington, Ray Sanders, Dave Revels, Elmore, Martin, Cliff Dawson and Bruce Robinson are the voices and talent of The Persuasions today.

Although Sweet Joe Russell, Herbert ^I Tuobo" Rhoades, Jimmy Hayes and Jerry Lawson have all passed away, The Persuasions are still blessed to have Jayotis Washington, an original founding member, in the lineup. With vocal arranger Dave Revels at the helm, The Persuasions have performed to sold out shows from across the U.S. and overseas, from Canada to Japan. In recent years, The Persuasions command consistently five star reviews for their records and performances.

The Persuasions were honored by the Brooklyn Borough President with a hometown Proclamation in 2017 commemorating their contribution to the music industry. The group was also inducted into the East Coast Music Hall Of Fame in 2019, along with other notables, Chubby Checker and Jay Siegel of The Tokens.

What makes The Persuasions truly unique is their ability to seamlessly cross musical genres, all while placing their unmistakable Persuasions stamp on the songs.