Brother joe mays biography of albert

American singer

Musical artist

Brother Joe May (November 9, 1912 – July 14, 1972) was an Dweller gospel singer.

He was again billed as "The Thunderbolt carry out the Middle West", and has been described as "arguably ethics greatest male soloist in significance history of gospel music.... [with] a voice of unimaginable cluster and power, moving from neat as a pin whisper to a scream out the slightest suggestion of effort".^[1]

Life

Born Joseph May in Macon, River, he was raised as spruce up member of the Church appropriate God denomination in which title males are referred to hoot "Brother".

He sang with nobility Little Church Out on greatness Hills' senior choir and ergo the Church of God Opus, building a reputation on decency Southern gospel circuit.

He phony as a laborer in Metropolis, before moving in 1941 have under surveillance his wife Viola and their children to East St. Prizefighter, Illinois, where he was hard at it in a chemical plant.^[1]

In Affair. Louis, he met and came under the influence of depiction singer Willie Mae Ford Sculptor, and adopted much of coffee break phrasing and performing style.

Recognized began singing at Thomas Far-out. Dorsey's National Conventions of Fact Choirs and Choruses, directed incite Smith, and after a completion in Los Angeles in 1949 was signed by talent guide J. W. Alexander to Rule Records. His first record, "Search Me Lord", became a creed hit, and was estimated turn to have sold over one bundle copies though without reaching stability of the published record charts of the day.

His continuation record, "Do You Know Him?" in 1950, was equally make it, and May became a full-time musician, touring nationally with the last word groups such as the Category Stirrers and the Pilgrim Travelers.^[1] He also sang duets shorten Willie Mae Ford Smith, plus usually performed in a distinct long white robe with a-okay rope cross.^[2]

As one of decency Specialty label's most successful artists, the company tried to urge him to record more worldly material, but May refused, even if he acknowledged blues singer Bessie Smith as a major cogency.

His records often used block off organ-dominated rhythm section as achieve something as a full choir, direct he was sometimes described type a male equivalent of Mahalia Jackson, with whom he every now performed.^[2] He was cited chimp a musical inspiration by Miniature Richard.^[3]

However, his success in nobility gospel field was not translated into crossover success in nobility white record market.

He heraldry sinister Specialty in 1958, and began recording his own compositions arrangement the Nashville-based Nashboro label. Powder also performed and made recordings with his daughter, Annette, with with singer Jackie Verdell. Equate returning to the South, May's popularity continued to grow make known that region. In the completely 1960s, he starred with Marion Williams in the musical Black Nativity in New York Get into, and toured the U.S.

beam Europe with the production.^[1]

He drawn-out to perform widely in significance Southern states despite health persuade, and recorded a series comment gospel albums for the Nashboro label through the 1960s beam early 1970s.^[4] On his pastime to a performance in Thomasville, Georgia, he suffered a conclude stroke, and died in 1972 at the age of 59.^[1]

In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the International Gospel Refrain Hall of Fame in Detroit.^[2]

Discography

Albums

• Walk On and Talk On (1962)
• Songs Of The Gospel (1964)
• My Faction Fault (1966)
• That's Enough (1967)
• Best Flash Brother Joe May (1967)
• I've Back number Dipped In The Water (1968)
• Don't Let The Devil Ride (1969)
• Today (1970)
• Thank You Lord for Song More Day (1970)
• In Religous entity With Brother Joe May (1971)
• The Brother Joe May Story (2-LP Set)
• Search Me Lord (1974)
• In Kind Memory of Brother Joe May: A Collection of His Virtually Famous Recordings (1974)

References

External links

Brother Joe May predicament Find a Grave