Singer Joe Ligon of gospel group Mighty Clouds of Joy dies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ― Singer Joe Ligon, the dynamic frontman of the Grammy-winning gospel group Mighty Clouds of Joy, has died. He was 80.
His 調書をとる／予約するing スパイ／執行官, Ricky DeRae, said Monday that Ligon died on Sunday in Georgia.
Ligon was born in Troy, Alabama, but moved to Los Angeles and started the gospel quartet in the 1950s. They were 影響（力）d by R&B groups like The 誘惑s, 同様に as the Rev. Julius Cheeks, a Los Angeles singer known for his baritone 発言する／表明する and onstage antics.
The 初めの members of the 禁止（する）d 含む Johnny ツバメ, Elmo and Ermant Franklin, Leon Polk and Richard Wallace. They won 支援する-to-支援する Grammy Awards in 1978 and 1979 for best soul gospel 業績／成果, 伝統的な, and again in 1991 for best 伝統的な soul gospel album.
"Steal Away to Jesus" was their first 記録，記録的な／記録するing in 1960, with their first album debuting in 1961 on Peacock 記録，記録的な／記録するs.
With a singing style derived from Southern Baptist churches, Ligon would shout, 叫び声をあげる and jump into the （人が）群がるs, which he called "cuttin' the fool," and would 配達する sermons in between songs. の中で Mighty Clouds of Joy's most popular songs: "Time," which crossed over to the R&B charts in 1974, and "Mighty High," a 1975 disco 攻撃する，衝突する.
They become the first gospel 行為／法令／行動する to ever appear on "Soul Train," which earned them 批評 の中で 伝統的な gospel music fans.
"We were one of the first groups to do 同時代の gospel. And we got 石／投石するd for it," Ligon told The Associated 圧力（をかける） in a 1993 interview.
Their crossover success brought them 付加 承認, and they opened for the Rolling 石／投石するs, Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin. They played for 大統領 Jimmy Carter and 小旅行するd extensively overseas.
Ligon told the AP that at the age of 56 he could 攻撃する，衝突する every 公式文書，認める that he could at the age of 18.
"Gospel singers don't retire, you know, they just die doing what they do," he said.
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Online:
www.themightycloudsofjoy.org/
