| If God had a disco, the DJ would be playing California gospel-soul group The Supreme Jubilees. "We wont have to cry no more," the tuxedo-clad group would sing, in high, angelic vocals over smooth grooves. "Itll all be over." Prepare to dance and contemplate death all at the same time. A band of brothers and cousins, the group was founded from two familes: brothers Joe and Dave Kingsby plus Daves son David Kingsby Jr., and keyboardist Leonard Sanders plus his brothers Phillips (drummer), Tim (bassist), and Melvin (tenor). The Sanders clan grew up singing together in the Witness of Jesus Christ church in Fresno CA, where dad Marion was pastor. Guitarist Larry Price-who belonged to neither family-completed the line-up that recorded the groups first-and, prophetically, only-album, Itll All Be Over. Released in 1980 on the groups own S&K (Sanders & Kingsby) label, Itll All Be Over pinpoints a fatalistic mood exemplified by the title. Its lyrics drawn from the Old Testament, its sound from the church by way of the disco, and its a feel captured by the album cover-a low, orange sun setting over the Pacific ocean. It is, as Jessica Hundley observes in the brand new liner notes, "both apocalyptic and seductive." |
