Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the Persuasions, a group that revived the art of a cappella singing and attracted a loyal worldwide following, died on Wednesday in Phoenix. Garrett Morgan blazed a trail for African American inventors with his patents, including those for a hair-straightening product, a breathing device, a revamped sewing machine and an improved traffic signal. “Thirty-eight years and we still ain’t got no band, man!” Mr. Lawson said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2000. “That’s the story right there.”. In the summer of 1995, 53-year-old Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist and vocalist for The Grateful Dead, announced he was going to Hawaii.He'd played a concert July 9 in Chicago that was described as "decidedly ragged," as Ultimate Classic Rock reports. In the mid-1970s, Lawson helped create the Fairchild Channel F, a home entertainment machine that was produced in 1976 by Fairchild Semiconductor, where he worked as director of engineering and marketing. The Persuasions began 30 years earlier as a casual and nameless ensemble on the basketball courts and front stoops of Brooklyn. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the eclectic cult-favorite a cappella group the Persuasions, has died. Lawson died Wednesday at a Phoenix hospice after a long illness, longtime friend and sometime Persuasions producer Rip Rense said. And I sit there and go, 'Oh yeah? One of the few Black engineers in his industry, Lawson later said that colleagues were often surprised to find out that he was African American: "With some people, it's become an issue. Jerry Lawson brought interchangeable video games into people's homes with the invention of the Fairchild Channel F, the precursor to modern video game systems. LOS ANGELES — Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the eclectic cult-favourite a cappella group the Persuasions, has died. They were acknowledged as an influence by Boyz II Men, Take 6, Rockapella and other vocal groups. We strive for accuracy and fairness. In the 1970s, with Jerry Lawson on lead vocals, the Persuasions had five albums in the Billboard Top 100, four of which were in The Billboard 200: We Came to … Lawson had been in hospice care … He was 75. Peggy married Jerry in 1958, inspiring Buddy’s sequel song, Peggy Sue Got Married, which was released after he died in a plane crash in 1959. He released his first and only solo album, “Just a Mortal Man,” in 2015. We are made to consider his passing on August 19, 2020. A few years later he joined a much younger group of San Francisco a cappella singers who had based themselves on the Persuasions. Tributes from different parts of the world including Ireland’s athletic commission are pouring for him. Jerry Lawson pioneered home video gaming in the 1970s by helping create the Fairchild Channel F, the first home video game system with interchangeable games. Cause of Jerry John Rawlings’ death has been made known to browngh.com. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as … His interest in computing led him in the 1970s to Silicon Valley's Homebrew Computer Club, of which he was the only Black member at the time. Jerry Lawson, Lead Singer of the Persuasions, Is Dead at 75. From left: Jayotis Washington, Herbert (Toubo) Rhoad, Joe Russell, Jerry Lawson and Jimmy Hayes. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) LOS ANGELES -- Jerry Lawson, … Jerry worked at Proshot Concrete and was a huge Alabama fan. During his time, Lawson boasted as one of the few African-American minds in the computing industry. Jerry Gaus Death – An instructor of thinking at the University of Arizona, Gerald (Jerry) Gaus, has kicked the bucket. As Jerry Lawson and the Talk of the Town, the group released an album in 2007 and appeared on the NBC music competition show “The Sing-Off” in 2011. He left behind a wife, six children from a previous marriage, one adopted daughter, and an estate worth an estimated $50 million. Rawlings was confirmed dead on Thursday morning. Jerry Lawson Jerry G. Lawson, 69, of Killen, AL, passed away January 6, 2020, at his residence. The eclecticism that was the key to the Persuasions’ appeal is probably also what kept them from reaching pop stardom; the music business found them hard to categorize. On Wednesday, January 21, 2021, Jerry Kiernan passed away from that same illness in his own home in Dublin, Ireland. A documentary about Mr. Lawson, “The Jerry Lawson Story — Just a Mortal Man,” is scheduled to be released this year. Jerry Lawson, 75 of Duffield, VA passed away on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Bristol Regional Medical Center. His death was confirmed by his wife, Julie. Geraldine A. Ferraro was a member of Congress and the first woman to run for the U.S. vice presidency on a major party platform. Jerry Lawson Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. Jerry Lawson, the original lead singer of the Persuasions, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 1992. Anne Rice is a best-selling author of popular series including 'Vampire Chronicles,' which includes the books 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'Queen of the Damned.'. Lawson died Wednesday at … Jerry Lawson was the lead singer of the a cappella group the Persuasions. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Jerry Lawson died Saturday morning, April 9th, 2011, at the age of 70.. Lawson was notable not only for being a rare African American electronic engineer in Silicon Valley, but also for leading the team that created the … He was survived by his wife, Catherine, and two children. He was 75. Jerry V. Lawson, Sr., 73, departed this life on May 10, 2020 at Riddle Memorial Hospital after a short illness. Mr. Washington is the only one still alive. He was an American electronic engineer. The Clark County Coroner's Office tells us the "Babylon 5" … Jerry Lawson is the original lead singer, arranger & producer of the a cappella group The Persuasions. Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the eclectic cult-favorite a cappella group the Persuasions, has died. In addition to his wife of 44 years, Julie (Hurwitz) Lawson, Mr. Lawson is survived by his father; two daughters, Yvette and Wanda Lawson; and a grandson. Infant son of Morgan Morris Lawson and his second wife, Gladys Eugenia Houston. It is with great sadness as Deaddeath learnt on January 30, 2021, that Jerry Wagner was pronounced dead, leaving family and friends in total devastations. The Persuasions recorded some two dozen albums, including tributes to Zappa, the Beatles and the Grateful Dead. He announced himself to the world when he invented Fairchild Channel F gaming pack. He is known for his work in designing the Fairchild Channel F video game console as well as leading the team that pioneered the commercial video game cartridge. Ghanaians are currently in shock about the sudden demise of the founder of National Democratic Congress (NDC). Mobster John "Junior" Gotti allegedly served as a capo in the Gambino family and was the acting boss when his father, John Gotti was in prison. Read Complete Obituary How did the Welsh actor and film director die? He was 75. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Jerry Wagner Passed away causing so much heartbreak and agony to the beloved. The family of late Jerry Rawlings, a former president of Ghana, has made clarification on the cause of his death. Well, sorry, I don't.'". (Only years earlier, Mike Markkula, co-founder of Apple Computers Inc., had headed marketing for the company.) He was 75. (In an interview, he referred to Jobs as a business-minded "sparkplug" and recalled being unimpressed when he interviewed Wozniak for a job.). "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. For full obituary and coverage from Legacy.com, click here. I am very saddened to announce the passing of a truly important figure in the history of video games. Their many fans included Frank Zappa, who released their first album, “Acappella,” on his Straight label in 1970, and Joni Mitchell, who took them on the road as her opening act in 1979 and sang with them on two tracks of her album “Shadows and Light,” released the next year. While facing fraud charges, she was publicly revealed to be a transgender woman. He was 75 years old. I've had people look at me with total shock. Gerald Anderson "Jerry" Lawson (December 1, 1940 – April 9, 2011) was an American electronic engineer. Lawson's father was a longshoreman and his mother worked for New York City. Chester A. Arthur was the 21st president of the United States. “They’ve never gotten their due,” Rip Rense, who produced some of their records, told The A.P. While with the club, he crossed paths with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. According to credible reports, he died on Thursday morning, November 12, 2020 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra following a short illness he battled. The Persuasions began as a casual and nameless ensemble on the basketball courts and front stoops of Brooklyn in 1962. “It was just five guys who used to stand on the corner or go down to the subway station every night and just do this,” Jimmy Hayes, another original member, told The A.P. In late 2020 it was reported by multiple sources that Jerry Kiernan was suffering from an undisclosed illness. Jerry Lawson was born on December 1st, 1940. Gerald Ford became the 38th president of the United States following Richard Nixon's resignation, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. The Persuasions in concert in the 1980s. Jerry Lawson, lead singer of the cult-favourite a cappella group the Persuasions, has passed away at the age of 75. Mr. Lawson left the group in 2002. Jerry Lawson 1939 1988 Jerry Lawson in U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Jerry Lawson was born on March 13 1939. Death certificate shows male, white, infant. The other original members were Joseph Russell, Herbert Rhoad and Jayotis Washington. Though basic by today's standards, Lawson's work allowed people to play a variety of games in their homes and paved the way for systems such as the Atatri 2600, Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation.