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The Legendary Beyons

by The Legendary Beyons

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  • Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Vinyl album includes 12-page booklet featuring an oral history of surviving band members and archival photography.

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about

For over fifty years, The Legendary Beyons have delighted Portlanders with their music. And now, for the first time, their work has been documented in this high fidelity LP accompanied by a detailed oral history of the group. The album’s booklet features a range of archival photography, serving as a period piece for the uninitiated.

On the cover of this previously unreleased 1977 album, there’s an image that tells you nearly everything you need to know: four Black men, resplendent in custom-tailored suits, are working it with synchronized steps before the rushing falls of Portland’s Fourcourt Fountain. In their joyous faces is written a brotherhood that began when this core of singers—Jeddy Beasley, Thurtis Channel, James Tims, and Ira Hammon—endeavored to harmonize as The Legendary Beyons. The group’s presence in this image reveals the richness of their soulful, Motown-inspired vocal sound.

These songs are the culmination of a story that began when these young men began singing in the locker room after basketball games at Jefferson High School. As their reputation grew, The Beyons––with the help of a crack backing band featuring arranger Dan Brewster and The Soul Masters–aspired for greatness in Albina’s club scene. A litany of touring acts on the Chitlin Circuit stopped through the area, performing side-by-side with The Beyons: The Whispers, Bloodstone, Blue Magic…the list is deep. But without a local recording industry or sustainable income for gigging Black musicians, The Beyons never released a recording in their heyday.

This session represents a seasoned group roughly a decade into their career. It is their only 20th-century recording that has survived. These songs, ranging from the jazzed “Dreaming You In My Mind” to the quiet storm of sweet soul ballad “There We Were, Here We Are,” spotlight the group’s tightly knit harmonies––pleading, sensual, playful, and romantic. Meanwhile, album single “Love Notes” comes as a burst of energy and “Let’s Talk About Love” begets a cosmic intro calling upon Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle to assist in sharing the band’s take on a topic called L-O-V-E.

To put it simply: put this record on and look inside the jacket. There is a booklet with classic photography and an oral history that provides not only a snapshot of this great group but a well-portioned inquiry into the experiences of Portland’s Black musician community in historic Albina–a truly unique project from Albina Music Trust.

credits

released October 23, 2020

All music written and produced by The Legendary Beyons.
Arrangements by Dan Brewster.
Recorded at Sunset Studios, 1977.

The Legendary Beyons featured on this recording are:

Jeddy Beasley - Vocals
Denarvel Brazzel - Vocals
Thurtis Channel - Vocals
Ira Hammon - Vocals
James Tims - Vocals

Instrumentation provided by:

Dan Brewster - Trombone
Bruce Carter - Drums
Tony Collins - Trumpet
Sherman Davis - Vocals
Donald Hepburn - Keyboards
Michael Hepburn - Keyboards
Marlon McClain - Guitar
Nathaniel Phillips - Bass Guitar
Bruce Smith - Percussion
Dennis Springer - Tenor Saxophone

Executive production by Bobby Smith for World Arts Foundation.
Reel-To-Reel Audio transfer by Gus Elg.
Mastered by Gus Elg.
Oral History by The Legendary Beyons and Calvin Walker.
Recorded January 5th, 2020 at Dig A Pony in Portland, OR.
Oral history edited by Bobby Smith.
Interviews recorded by Chase Spross and Bobby Smith.
Interview location support by Dig A Pony and XRAY FM.
Project support by Jared White.
Art direction by Bobby Smith.
Cover, booklet, and center label design by Brian Mumford.

This record was made possible with support
from the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

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about

The Legendary Beyons Portland, Oregon

Sweet Soul Vocal Group from Portland.

1968-present

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