The Nat Turner Rebellion

The Nat Turner Rebellion was a quartet led by Joseph Jefferson. The most frequent lead singer was Major Harris. Bill Spratley was also a member of the group, as well as Ron Hopper.[2] Jefferson, the last surviving member, died in 2020 at the age of 77.[3]

In the late 1960s, Jefferson had been touring with Cissy Houston's band, The Sweet Inspirations, as a drummer. However, he became ill with a foot infection and stayed in Philadelphia to recover. During his recovery, he realized that he no longer wanted to play R&B music. Jefferson then returned to his home town of Petersburg, Virginia to put together his own music group, the Nat Turner Rebellion, named after Nat Turner's slave rebellion. The band toured the east coast of North America, traveling as far north as Montreal, Canada and as far south as Miami, Florida.[2] From 1969 to 1972, the Nat Turner Rebellion recorded for Philly Groove Records.[4] Under the record label, they recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, also in Philadelphia. Philly Groove Records released a few singles from the band, but never released their debut album.[4]

The Nat Turner Rebellion broke apart in 1972 on bad terms, with Jefferson saying that Spratley brandished a gun at him during a dispute about the band's finances.[4]

The audio archives of Drexel University inherited Sigma Sound Studios' collection of over 7,000 [1] cassette tapes, which included never-released music from the Nat Turner Rebellion.[4] Along with the songs that had been released as singles, Drexel discovered fourteen tracks recorded by the band.[1] Drexel University-owned record label Mad Dragon Records, along with the company that owned the publishing rights to Philly Groove Records Catalog, Reservoir, assembled an album of the Nat Turner Rebellion's recordings.[4] The title of the album they released was Laugh to Keep From Crying. It was released with Jefferson's permission in 2019.[1] The album will be re-released by ORG Music for Record Store Day in 2020.[5]

Music critic Ken Tucker stated that musically, "they were sort of a cross between Sly Stone and Blood, Sweat & Tears. But really, they sounded like no one else."[4] Jefferson stated that vocally, he was inspired by The Temptations, but for rock and roll inspiration he looked to The Rolling Stones. He said that the soul of the Nat Turner Rebellion could be best ascribed to Sly and the Family Stone, saying, "We wanted to be Sly. Didn’t everybody?"[2] Each of the four members sang; they were accompanied by a seven-piece band that included horns.[2]