The Spiritual Harmonizers
Encyclopedia
The Spiritual Harmonizers is an urban contemporary gospel
group, made up of current and retired postal employees from Richmond, Virginia
, United States of America. The group reached national popularity after performing on America's Got Talent
in 2009. The group has seven members and currently performs in churches and other venues in Richmond and along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States.
, in the locker room at the post office in Richmond, and a co-worker a few lockers over picked up the tune. Soon other co-workers would join the group during work breaks or after hours, providing new harmonies.
The group has now grown to seven and includes Lewis (leads), Alton Jones, Michael Ellis, Robert "Doc" Dockery (bass),Lewis Hatcher (leads and falsetto), Brandon Lewis and L.J. Lewis. Brandon and L.J. are Leon Lewis' sons.
The group generally performs at weddings, reunions and churches local to the Richmond area. In August 2004, the Spiritual Harmonizers entered "the Gospel Explosion Showcase" at the Landmark Theater in Richmond, and won the grand prize by finishing first. In 2006 the group performed in Washington, D.C.
, at the investiture
of Yverne Pat Moore, the first black Postmaster of Washington, D.C. They have performed at the same venues with other gospel acts such as Yolanda Adams
and Luther Barnes
.
In July 2009 The Spiritual Harmonizers impressed the judges of America's Got Talent (season 4) with their a cappella rendition of the Boyz II Men
hit "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
".
Although the judges ostensibly passed the group "on to the next round", they were cut from the show and sent home without any other performances.
The Youtube video of their performance got more than 20,000 hits within a week after the show.
The group recorded a CD in 2000 called Up in Faith and plans to release a second in 2009 featuring its America's Got Talent success. Demand for the groups's appearances has also increased ten-fold since their television appearance.
On September 13, 2009, between 5pm and 11pm PST, the Spiritual Harmonizers sang live during the Chabad Telethon in Los Angeles, California. The telethon was seen by an international audience of more than 2 million people.
, Illinois
, northern Virginia, Lake Charles, Louisiana
, Little Rock, Arkansas
, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
, Quincy, Florida and Sacramento, California
.
Urban contemporary gospel
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
group, made up of current and retired postal employees from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, United States of America. The group reached national popularity after performing on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent (season 4)
The fourth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on the NBC network on June 23, 2009. Country singer Kevin Skinner was named the winner on September 16, 2009....
in 2009. The group has seven members and currently performs in churches and other venues in Richmond and along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States.
Background
Originator James "Leon" Lewis says the group came together in the late 1990s when he was singing, a cappellaA cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
, in the locker room at the post office in Richmond, and a co-worker a few lockers over picked up the tune. Soon other co-workers would join the group during work breaks or after hours, providing new harmonies.
The group has now grown to seven and includes Lewis (leads), Alton Jones, Michael Ellis, Robert "Doc" Dockery (bass),Lewis Hatcher (leads and falsetto), Brandon Lewis and L.J. Lewis. Brandon and L.J. are Leon Lewis' sons.
Musical career
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, at the investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
of Yverne Pat Moore, the first black Postmaster of Washington, D.C. They have performed at the same venues with other gospel acts such as Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning...
and Luther Barnes
Luther Barnes
Luther Barnes is a record producer, director, songwriter, composer and lead singer of Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires and the Red Budd Gospel Choir.-Biography:Barnes is an ordained minister & native son of Rocky Mount, North Carolina...
.
In July 2009 The Spiritual Harmonizers impressed the judges of America's Got Talent (season 4) with their a cappella rendition of the Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are the most successful R&B group of all time, having sold more than albums worldwide. In the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet, but original member Michael McCary...
hit "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" is an R&B song written by Motown husband-and-wife songwriting team Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian for the 1975 film Cooley High. In the film, the song is performed by Motown artist G.C. Cameron, whose rendition peaked at number 38 on the Billboard R&B...
".
Although the judges ostensibly passed the group "on to the next round", they were cut from the show and sent home without any other performances.
The Youtube video of their performance got more than 20,000 hits within a week after the show.
The group recorded a CD in 2000 called Up in Faith and plans to release a second in 2009 featuring its America's Got Talent success. Demand for the groups's appearances has also increased ten-fold since their television appearance.
On September 13, 2009, between 5pm and 11pm PST, the Spiritual Harmonizers sang live during the Chabad Telethon in Los Angeles, California. The telethon was seen by an international audience of more than 2 million people.
Other spiritual harmonizers
In addition to the postal workers in Richmond, the name "Spiritual Harmonizers" has also been used by singing groups in MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, northern Virginia, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, Quincy, Florida and Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.