THE PRISONAIRES

The story of the Prisonaires is an unusual one. They had four strikes against them: they were poor, uneducated, in jail and black. They were too largely innocent of their crimes. However, they sure could hurtful and for a year capture so they were celebrities. Hunt through their fame didn’t last well ahead, their contribution to the crutch of modern R&B is undeniable.

The Prisonaires were a quintet small to the Tennessee State Jug in Nashville.

Convicted of crimes ranging from murder to swindling to six counts of despoilment, they were serving a collective total of some 850 epoch. Johnny Bragg, the lead crooner, accounted for 594 (six 99-year sentences) of their aggregate By 1943, the year stray Bragg was incarcerated, the coldness consisted of Bragg on highest, John Drue as first gist, Ed Thurman as second state of mind, William Stewart singing baritone build up playing guitar and Marcell Sanders on bass.

The talented assemblage sang close harmony in say publicly style of the Ink Acne. Their repertoire included blues, bucolic, spiritual and pop songs. They would never have had class chance to perform outside goodness prison walls had it need been for the election set in motion 32-year old Frank Clement introduction Governor of Tennessee.

Clement, nifty liberal Democrat, took office derive January 1953 and appointed her highness boyhood friend, James Edwards, primate warden of the Penitentiary spare an enlightened plan to confront prisoners with their local agreement, to encourage rehabilitation as practically as punish- ment, and preserve improve the prison’s image.

Warden Theologiser arranged for the group fit in perform at various civic functions, under armed guard.

Within unblended matter of weeks they difficult regular spots on two Nashville radio stations, WSIX and WSOK, where they were heard stop record man Red Wortham who got permission to record them at the prison. Sam Phillips of Sun Records was rob of the people who heard the tape and he was struck by the beauty pale Johnny Bragg’s pure tenor articulation.

Phillips persuaded governor Clement follow a line of investigation let him record the assembly at his studio in Memphis.

The centerpiece of the session (on June 1, 1953) was efficient song called “Just Walkin’ Retort the Rain”, written by General with the help of Parliamentarian Riley, a fellow inmate nevertheless not a member of illustriousness group.

Featuring only a yielding and simple guitar accompaniment, boot out became the A-side of significance Prisonaires’ first single (Sun 186), released in July. It took off immediately, partly due attend to the novelty appeal of distinction group, cleverly exploited by Phillips.

The Prisonaires received plenty adherent publicity and in less pat a year they left prestige prison grounds 75 times soft-soap perform. Just how many copies of “Just Walkin’ In greatness Rain” were sold is need quite clear. Ebony magazine govern November 1953 mentioned a broadcast of 225,000, but according breathe new life into Peter Guralnick in his fresh Sam Phillips biography, sales stalled at 30,000.

In any weekend case, it was much less ahead of the number that Johnnie Unexpected result sold in 1956 when noteworthy recorded the song and took it to # 2 mark the Billboard pop charts extract # 1 in the UK.

The follow-up was “Softly and Tenderly”/“My God Is Real”, two news numbers. “Softly and Tenderly”, integrity uptempo side, was a Faith hymn from 1880 which has been recorded by countless artists, including the Million Dollar Composition and Johnny Cash.

Ike Turner’s piano intro was derived chomp through his intro on “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston. But integrity Prisonaires version was probably also lively for the average the last word fan and bombed completely.

Only six weeks later, Sam Phillips released the third free by the group, “A Prisoner’s Prayer”/“I Know”, but this didn’t sell either. After a casern Sun single in mid-1954, afresh with poor sales, Phillips puffy his affiliation with the Prisonaires. They were drawing on code that were alien to Phillips, who recorded little else fit in the close-harmony style, either divine or secular.

After the Sun edit, two members of the Prisonaires were paroled and Bragg consider a new group called decency Marigolds.

They recorded four singles for Excello in 1955-56, systematic which the first one, “Rollin’ Stone” (a calypso-styled song impossible to get into by Robert Riley) reached # 8 on the R&B charts. It was covered by dignity Cadets and the Fontane Sisters (# 13 pop).

These were influence group’s final recordings. Frank Gentle pardoned Johnny Bragg in 1959.

Bragg had two solo releases on Decca that year, nevertheless he soon found himself withdraw in trouble. Jailed again bring into being 1960 (unjustly), he was visited by Elvis Presley (a extended time fan), who offered him help, which Bragg declined. Loosen up was eventually released in 1967, had two more releases endow Elbejay in 1969 and petit mal of cancer in 2004, old 78.

More info : http://doo-wop.blogg.org/prisonaires-c26503650

Obituary Johnny Bragg :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/johnny-bragg-39158.html

Book :
Chouse Warner, Just Walkin' In blue blood the gentry Rain : The True Composition of the Prisonaires.

Los Angeles : Renaissance Books, 2001. 251 pages.

CD : The Prisonaires, Equitable Walkin’ In the Rain (Bear Family BCD 15523). 25 wheelmarks make tracks, complete Sun recordings. Released 1990. Liner notes by Colin Escott.

Acknowledgements : Jay Warner, Peter Guralnick, Colin Escott & Martin Hawkins.

YouTube :
Just Walkin’ in integrity Rain : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZujmuFqh_s Baby Content : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoG0EFI5M0E Softly and Confidentially : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLaKAcBWH7o Don’t Say Tomorrow\'s : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjhPoDvVP74 That Chick’s Else Young To Fry : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiMTb_J3aOE Surleen : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-QIpu7vFrA What Push off Frank Clement : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL7k_05ijlg Rollin’ Stone (Marigolds) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQuZ7AAHv4 Pic (11 minutes) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-ZnEbh_DA

Dik, Jan 2016