Nat Turner Rebellion (sometimes written as The Nat Turner Rebellion) was an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

band from Philadelphia. Their line up consisted of band leader Joseph Jefferson, lead singer Major Harris, and instrumentalists Bill Spratley and Ron Hopper. The band was formed in the 1960's in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

by Jefferson and recorded in Philadelphia for the label

Philly Groove Records Philly Groove Records was a soul music label started by Stan Watson and Sam Bell in 1967, with noted producer Thom Bell doing A&R. The label's best-known artists were male vocal group the Delfonics and female group First Choice. Both acts enjoye ...

. Though most of their material was never released while the band was together, their recordings were eventually added

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

's sound archives and were officially released in 2019 by the university's student-run label

MAD Dragon Records The Music Industry Program Entities, or the MAD Dragon Music Group (MDMG), is an umbrella company owned by Drexel University, run by university students and overseen by faculty and staff. The purpose of the company is to provide industry experienc ...

Formation and Philly Groove Records

In the late 1960s, Jefferson had been touring with

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

's band,

The Sweet Inspirations The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists. A founding member of the group was Dionne Warwick, who was later replaced by her aunt, Cis ...

, as a drummer. However, he became ill with a foot infection and stayed in Philadelphia to recover. During his recovery, he realized that he no longer wanted to play R&B music. Jefferson then returned to his home town of

to put together his own music group, Nat Turner Rebellion, named after the slave rebellion of the same name in 1831. The band toured the east coast of North America, traveling as far north as

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada and as far south as

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida. From 1969 to 1972, Nat Turner Rebellion recorded for

. Under the record label, they recorded at

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States to ...

, also in Philadelphia. Philly Groove Records released a few singles from the band, but never released their debut album.

Breakup

Nat Turner Rebellion broke apart in 1972 on bad terms, with Jefferson saying that Spratley brandished a gun at him during a dispute about the band's finances.

Rediscovery

The audio archives of

inherited Sigma Sound Studios' collection of over 7,000

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

s, which included never-released music from Nat Turner Rebellion. Along with the songs that had been released as singles, Drexel discovered fourteen tracks recorded by the band. Drexel University-owned record label

, along with the company that owned the publishing rights to Philly Groove Records Catalog, Reservoir, assembled an album of Nat Turner Rebellion's recordings. The title of the album they released was ''Laugh to Keep from Crying''. It was released with Jefferson's permission in 2019. Jefferson, the last surviving member, died a year later at the age of 77. The album was re-released by

ORG Music The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues and by fostering a community of grassroots activists. It campaigns on numerous issues including ma ...

for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

in 2020.

Style

Music critic

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

stated that musically, "they were sort of a cross between Sly Stone and

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. But really, they sounded like no one else." Jefferson stated that vocally, he was inspired by

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, but for rock and roll inspiration he looked to

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. He said that the soul of the Nat Turner Rebellion could be best ascribed to

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, saying, "We wanted to be Sly. Didn’t everybody?" Each of the four members sang; they were accompanied by a seven-piece band that included

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Laugh to Keep from Crying'' (MAD Dragon Records, 2019)

Singles

* "Ruby Lee / You Are My Sun Sign" 7" on Philly Groove Records (1972) * "Love, Peace and Understanding / Getting Higher" 7" on Philly Groove Records (1970) * "Tribute to a Slave / Plastic People" 7" on DELVALIANT / Philly Groove Records (unknown, circa 1970) * "Can't Go on Livin' / Laugh to Keep from Crying" on Philly Soulville Records (unknown, circa 1970)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nat Turner Rebellion American soul musical groups African-American musical groups American vocal groups Musical groups from Philadelphia Vocal quartets