Brother Joe May (November 9, 1912 – July 14, 1972) was an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer. He was sometimes billed as "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West", and has been described as "arguably the greatest male soloist in the history of gospel music....

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

a voice of unimaginable range and power, moving from a whisper to a scream without the slightest suggestion of effort". Biography by Jason Ankeny, Allmusic.com
Accessed 8 October 2012

Life

Born Joseph May in

Macon, Mississippi Macon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,768 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County. History In 1817, Jackson's Military Road was built at the urging of Andrew Jackson to p ...

, he was raised as a member of the Church of God denomination in which all males are referred to as "Brother". He sang with the Little Church Out on the Hills' senior choir and then the Church of God Quartet, building a reputation on the Southern gospel circuit. He worked as a laborer in Macon, before moving in 1941 with his wife Viola and their children to East St. Louis, Illinois, where he was employed in a chemical plant. In

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, he met and came under the influence of the singer Willie Mae Ford Smith, and adopted much of her phrasing and performing style. He began singing at

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, in ...

's National Conventions of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, directed by Smith, and after a performance in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1949 was signed by talent scout J. W. Alexander to

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...

. His first record, "Search Me Lord", became a gospel hit, and was estimated to have sold over one million copies though without reaching any of the published record charts of the day. His follow-up record, "Do You Know Him?" in 1950, was equally successful, and May became a full-time musician, touring nationally with gospel groups such as the

Soul Stirrers The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on Soul music, Soul, Rhythm and blues, R&B, Doo-wop, a ...

and the

Pilgrim Travelers The Pilgrim Travelers were an American gospel group, popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Musical career Formed in 1936 in Houston, Texas, United States, They achieved popularity after moving to Los Angeles in 1942, where their new manage ...

. He also sang duets with Willie Mae Ford Smith, and usually performed in a distinctive long white robe with a rope cross. W. K. McNeil, ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', p.248
/ref> As one of the Specialty label's most successful artists, the company tried to persuade him to record more secular material, but May refused, although he acknowledged

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

singer

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

as a major influence. His records often used an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

-dominated

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

as well as a full

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, and he was sometimes described as a male equivalent of

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...

, with whom he sometimes performed. He was cited as a musical inspiration by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

.Charles White, ''The Life And Times Of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography'', Omnibus Press, 2003, pp. 15-17 However, his success in the gospel field was not translated into crossover success in the white record market. He left Specialty in 1958, and began recording his own compositions for the

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

-based Nashboro label. He also performed and made recordings with his daughter, Annette, and with singer Jackie Verdell. After returning to the South, May's popularity continued to grow in that region. In the early 1960s, he starred with

Marion Williams Marion Williams (August 29, 1927 – July 2, 1994) was an American gospel singer. Early years Marion Williams was born in Miami, Florida, to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. She left school when she was nine ...

in the musical '' Black Nativity'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and toured the U.S. and Europe with the production. He continued to perform widely in the Southern states despite health problems, and recorded a series of gospel

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s for the Nashboro label through the 1960s and early 1970s.Nashboro Records album discography
. Accessed 8 October 2012 On his way to a performance in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

, he suffered a massive

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, and died in 1972 at the age of 59. In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Walk On and Talk On'' (1962) * ''Songs Of The Gospel'' (1964) * ''My Own Fault'' (1966) * ''That's Enough'' (1967) * ''Best Of Brother Joe May'' (1967) * ''I've Been Dipped In The Water'' (1968) * ''Don't Let The Devil Ride'' (1969) * ''Today'' (1970) * ''Thank You Lord for One More Day '' (1970) * ''In Church With Brother Joe May'' (1971) * ''The Brother Joe May Story'' (2-LP Set) * ''Search Me Lord'' (1974) * ''In Loving Memory of Brother Joe May: A Collection of His Most Famous Recordings'' (1974)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Brother Joe 1912 births 1972 deaths American gospel singers People from Macon, Mississippi Singers from Mississippi 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers