Brother joe mays biography definition

Brother Joe May (November 9, – July 14, ) was an American gospel singer. He was sometimes billed as "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West", and has been described as "arguably the greatest male soloist in the history of gospel music [with] a voice of unimaginable range and power, moving from a whisper to a scream without the slightest suggestion of effort".

Life

Born Joseph May in Macon, Mississippi, he was raised as a member of the Church of God denomination in which all males are referred to as "Brother".

He sang with the Little Church Out on the Hills' senior choir and then the Church of God Quartet, building a reputation on the Southern gospel circuit. He worked as a laborer in Macon, before moving in with his wife Viola and their children to East St.

Louis, Illinois, where he was employed in a chemical plant.

In St. Louis, he met and came under the influence of the singer Willie Mae Ford Smith, and adopted much of her phrasing and performing style. He be