The Jackson Southernaires is an American

traditional black gospel Traditional Black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular mu ...

music group from

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, producer Frank Crisler formed the group in 1940, yet they did not become active until 1969, with the release of ''Too Late'' by Song Bird Records. At its inception, The group consisted of five members; Huey Williams, Roger Bryant Jr., Maurice Surrell, James Burks, and Luther Jennings. The group received a nomination for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category at the

34th Annual Grammy Awards The 34th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1992, recognizing accomplishments by musicians from the previous year (1991). Natalie Cole won the most awards (three), including Album of the Year. Paul Simon opened the show. Performers ...

. The group has released 28 albums, including their 2010 release, ''Back Again'', with Blackberry Records. Eleven albums have charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine charts, only on the Gospel Albums chart. In late 2019, the world was hit with a pandemic known as Covid-19. By early 2020, all music tours came to a halt. This pandemic continued for over 2 years. By the time it was concluded, the lives of few past group members had settled elsewhere. At this time, a few of The Southernaires’ musicians decided to take on the task of being background vocals and continue touring.

Background

The

-based

group, The Jackson Southernaires was founded by record producer, Frank Crisler, in 1940. They did not start actively recording and releasing music until 1969. The group at its inception included Huey Williams, Roger Bryant Jr., Maurice Surrell, James Burks, and Luther Jennings, Dr. Gary Miles, Granard McClendon, Melvin Wilson.

History

The group has released 28 albums from 1969 until 2010, with the following labels: Song Bird Records,

Malaco Records Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, ...

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

, Redemption Records, and Blackberry Records. Of these albums, eleven charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Gospel Albums chart, and those were, ''Made in Mississippi'', ''Greatest Hits'', ''Lord We Need Your Blessing'', ''Hear Our Prayers O Lord'', ''Power Packed'', ''On the Third Day'', ''Thank You Mama for Praying for Me'', ''Live and Anointed'', ''The Word in Song'', ''The Brothers Dream...Alive'', and ''Warrior''. The group received a

nomination for the Best Traditional Gospel Album at the

, for the album ''Thank You Mama for Praying for Me''.

Members

;Current * Huey Williams * Keith Hampton * Jonah Nelson * Gregory Cooper, Jr. * Devon Tate * Israel Coleman * Mardraius Marshall ; ;Former * Willie Banks (deceased) * Roger Bryant Jr. (deceased) * Luther Jennings (deceased) * Rev. Charles E. Polk Sr. (deceased) * Frank Delano Williams (deceased) * Plathell Paul Peters (deceased)

Discography

(*) – Denotes a

nomination, for that particular album

References

External links