The Jubalaires

The Jubalaires were the first American Hip Hop group active during the 1940s and 1950s. The group initially went by the name, The Royal Harmony Singers, as far back as 1936 and under that name reached #10 on the R&B charts on November 14, 1942, with "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition", a song adapted from the speech of a naval chaplain in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor the previous year.In 1946, the Jubalaires secured a spot on Arthur Godfrey's CBS radio show. Willie Johnson left the Golden Gate Quartet to take the lead of the group in 1948, and in 1950 the band appeared in the musical comedy film, Duchess of Idaho.Much of the Jubalaires' music was initially issued by Queen Records, a subsidiary of King Records specializing in African-American music; later reissues appeared on King Records proper. The band recorded with Andy Kirk on November 27, 1945, a session which produced the Decca Records 78rpm release, "I Know/Get Together With The Lord", and credited to Andy Kirk & His Orchestra With The Jubalaires. A third track recorded during the session, "Soothe Me", went unreleased.Other Jubalaires' releases included "Before This Time Another Year/Ezekiel (Saw The Wheel A Rollin')" (Decca), "God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down/Go Down Moses" (King), and "My God Called Me This Morning/Ring That Golden Bell" (King).The Jubalaires' record, "Dreaming Of The Ladies In The Moon" (Crown Records) attracted the praise of Billboard magazine which gave the record a mark of 78/100 in the 17 April 1954 issue, commenting that "The boys here come thru with a strong reading on a bright ballad with an evocative flavor." The reviewer compared the Jubalaires' treatment of the song with the style of the Mills Brothers and predicted it could become a break-out hit. Billboard also praised the group's performance on the release, "David And Goliath/I've Done My Work" (Capitol Records), in the 15 December 1951 issue as well as their performance, but in more muted terms, on "Rain Is The Teardrops Of Angels/Keep On Doin' What You're Doin'", in the 4 August 1951 issue.