THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,703) Nat Turner Rebellion — “Love, Peace and Understanding”
What’s so funny about love, peace and understanding? “The spirited social commentary” of this incredibly inventive ’70 A-side “calls for harmony” (Fred Thomas, https://www.allmusic.com/album/laugh-to-keep-from-crying-mw0003267247) — despite the Philly soul/funk band’s provocative name and black power underpinnings.
“We won’t let instigation or any aggravation, no, destroy our foundation or our love for our nation”
The Nat Turner Rebellion “reflected part post-Civil Rights black consciousness, part post-soul black rock and funk, and part sweet soul harmonies that would become a main ingredient in 1970s Philly soul.” (Melissa Weber, liner notes to the CD comp Laugh to Keep from Crying)
Fred Thomas tells the story of this fascinating Philly soul band:
The story of Philly soul group Nat Turner Rebellion is one of “lost classic” music mythology. The group formed in the late ’60s around the talents of songwriter/bandleader Joe Jefferson, aiming to bring a different level of consciousness to the soul-funk sound that was developing in Philly at the time. Rather than stick to the typical themes of love and romance, Nat Turner Rebellion’s songs tapped into the burgeoning black power movement as well as anti-war sentiments and hippie ideology. Naming themselves after a violent uprising that happened at the height of slavery, Jefferson and bandmates Major Harris, Ron Harper, and Bill Spratley worked themes of racial inequality and revolutionary thinking into their sharp grooves. The band toiled in the studio for about three years, producing a few singles as they worked towards a full-length debut. Ultimately, however, their label wanted a less confrontational sound more in line with the accessible pop of other soul acts of the day. Frustrated, Nat Turner Rebellion broke up and the majority of their songs were shelved as the bandmembers went separate directions. . . . [A]lmost 50 years later, the studio where the group recorded donated their archive of tapes to Drexel University’s Audio Archives program. The unearthed Nat Turner Rebellion tapes proved just as electric and charged decades later, and work began to properly issue these songs of hope and struggle. By the time Laugh to Keep from Crying saw wide-scale release in 2019, Jefferson was the only member of the band still alive. It’s a bittersweet time capsule in that way, and a document that highlights the anger and excitement of the early ’70s, particularly in relation to the lives of young black Americans. . . . Fueled by hard-hitting funk grooves and confident vocal arrangements, the 14 songs represent all of the band’s recorded work. . . . a document of urgency and intensity but also one of fun, joy, and togetherness.
[T]he group worked in a high-energy soul-funk vein, and their name . . . nodded to their political and sociological underpinnings. They signed a record deal with Philly Groove records in 1970, but disputes between the band and the label ultimately led to their breakup. The label wanted the band to sound more like commercial contemporaries like the Delfonics, but [the] group argued for more challenging content and a harder sound. . . . [A] finished album was shelved around 1972. Jefferson went on to write songs for other soul acts and Harris joined the Delfonics, enjoying a successful life in music both with the group and solo.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/laugh-to-keep-from-crying-mw0003267247, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nat-turner-rebellion-mn0001391401#biography
Jefferson went on to write or co-write a number of hits for the Spinners: “One of a Kind (Love Affair)” — #11/#1 R&B, “Mighty Love” — #20/#1, “Love Don’t Love Nobody — #15/#4, “Sadie” #54/#7, “(They Just Can’t Stop It) Games People Play” — #5/#1, and “Love or Leave” — #36/#8. (https://www.musicvf.com/The+Spinners+%5BUS+band%5D.songs#gsc.tab=0)
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