Jake Hess and the Imperials The band had its genesis when long-time
Statesmen Quartet member
Jake Hess retired from that group on December 7, 1963. Hess wanted to start a new group recognized as "king" of the Southern gospel field and thought the "Imperials" would be a good moniker. After getting the go-ahead from Marion Snider for permission to use the name (Snider had previously operated an Imperial Quartet named after its sponsor
Imperial Sugar), he gathered together pianist
Henry Slaughter from the
Weatherford Quartet, ex-
Oak Ridge Boys baritone
Gary McSpadden, the Weatherford Quartet's bass singer Armond Morales and
Speer Family tenor Sherrill (Shaun) Neilsen to join him. After two years with the group, tenor Nielsen was first to go and Jim Murray would replace him. Murray's past included stints with The Melodares, the Stamps Trio, Inspirationals, and Orrell Quartet. About this time, Slaughter also departed with Joe Moscheo of the Harmoneers replacing him at the keyboard.
1960s thru early 1970s In late 1966, Henry Slaughter left the group and Hess assembled a new band to accompany the quartet. With Joe Moscheo on piano, Larry Benson on drums, keyboard, bass, and miscellaneous other instruments, along with Dave Mathis on electric guitar, a new sound was formed. Ron Hamm replaced Mathis on guitar within a few months. In 1967, Hess began having heart issues, and by the end of the year, under doctor's orders, he left the road, turning the reins of the group over to Morales, Moscheo, and Murray. McSpadden chose to leave around this time in 1967 also. The group recorded with
Elvis Presley from May 1966 to June 1971. This included his last two
Grammy Award-producing albums:
How Great Thou Art (which won a Grammy for the title song and featured a duet with Hess on the classic Statesmen song "If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side") and
He Touched Me (which used many of the songs that The Imperials had recorded on their own albums and, again, won a Grammy for the title song). In 1969, Presley hired the group to perform in concert with him after the
Jordanaires had turned down Presley's invitation to play
Las Vegas and tour; the group felt they could afford to be away from Nashville as long as a touring commitment required. In the same time frame, The Imperials appeared with
Jimmy Dean live as well as on his television show.
Larry Gatlin auditioned for the group in the fall of 1970, then got the call to sing with them in early 1971 backing Jimmy Dean in Las Vegas. Gatlin with the group for less than one month after he and his wife moved to Nashville to begin a career in country music. Gatlin's position the group was filled by Greg Gordon. In November 1971, because of scheduling conflicts, The Imperials decided to stop performing with Presley; in 1972, they stopped performing with Jimmy Dean.
Southern Gospel to CCM The Imperials surprised gospel music fans in February 1972 by hiring
Sherman Andrus, a former member of
Andrae Crouch and the Disciples to replace Greg Gordon. This change made them the first interracial Christian group in the United States. The lineup of the group stayed stable with Andrus and Terry Blackwood sharing lead vocals through 1976 when Joe Moscheo left just after the recording of
Follow the Man with the Music. The following year, the pair themselves left to form
contemporary Christian music act
Andrus, Blackwood & Company. Will stayed with the group for 23 years. Also added at this time was
Russ Taff as lead vocalist. The Taff-led outfit is heard on the albums
Sail On,
Imperials Live,
Heed the Call,
One More Song for You,
Christmas with The Imperials, and
Priority. It was during this era that the group officially moved from Southern Gospel to Contemporary Christian Music, experiencing their biggest success with both awards and on the charts.
1990s In 1991, the Imperials would surprise fans again by bringing in Armond's sister Pam Morales to the lineup. Although she appeared with the group in the early 1980s as a backup singer, this would be the first time a female was a front member of the quartet. Armond Morales decided to bring her in when Beddoe left the group while in the midst of recording for
Big God. She remained in the lineup through 1993's
Stir It Up. 1993 saw the group change and go in a different direction. What once was strictly a set contract agreement to most performances, the Imperials began to re-establish themselves by scaling down their act, opting for simple accompaniment and more intimate church performances in place of stadium and large concerts—ministering in local churches for free-will offerings only. The Imperials that year performed in over 200 churches, more dates than the previous two years, this they achieved with Brian Comeaux singing lead and a succession of tenors, including Mark Addock, Peter Pankratz and Bill Morris, singing at selected dates. No albums were recorded during this time. In 1994, they returned with new members Steven Ferguson and Jeff Walker, both of whom were ordained ministers—as were Armond and Will by this time. They signed a one-project deal with the familiar
Impact Records, which had been re-acquired by Homeland Records and Landmark Distribution. After a three-year recording hiatus, the release of
Til He Comes marked the change back to a four-part harmony sound—losing the hard edge of previous albums and helping restore their original fans to the fold. ==Legacy==