Biography
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Born
11 October 1936
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Born In
Troy, Pike County, Alabama, United States
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Died
11 December 2016 (aged 80)
Joe Ligon (Troy, Alabama, USA, September 11, 1942 - December 11, 2016) was an American gospel singer.
He was the lead singer of The Mighty Clouds of Joy.
Ligon migrated to Los Angeles at age 14 and met his future mates in the Mighty Clouds of Joy in the late 1950s while attending Jefferson High School. Like top quartets such as the Blind Boys of Mississippi, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Gospelaires of Dayton, the Clouds incorporated the growls, shouts, and rasp of African American preachers into their singing, a style sometimes referred to as “hard gospel.”
The Mighty Clouds of Joy, an American traditional gospel music quartet, was formed in 1961 and started out in a tradition-based style. Eventually they added soul, R&B, and rock flourishes into their musical mix (one of their early hits was produced by Gamble and Huff) without diluting the essential religious essence of their material. The long-lived group flourished throughout the rest of the 20th century, scoring numerous Grammy Awards and nominations, as well as several hit albums along the way.
Based in Los Angeles, California, the original group members include Joe Ligon (d. 2016), Johnny Martin (d. 1987), Ermant Franklin Jr., Artis Turnbough (d. 1999), Elmo Franklin (d. 2008), Richard Wallace, Leon Polk and David Walker (who also recorded several tracks with Link Wray under the name Bunker Hill).
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