Whither…the Imperials?

Since this is supposed to be a gospel music-based blog, I suppose it behooves me to comment occasionally on current events relating to the “business” of it.

One hot discussion topic currently is the controversy regarding the name “Imperials”…a name made famous in gospel music by a group that rose quickly to the top of the gospel quartet world in the 1960s, then moved into a more contemporary vein in the 1970s, becoming a force in that part of gospel music by the 1980s, and remaining there before “retiring” at the end of the 20th century.

The controversy centers on which of THREE groups using the name at this time, all with connections to the group described above, have the “right” to use the name.

The original group was retired by original member and bass singer Armond Morales, who seemed content to finally get off the road after over four decades and retire from singing. After a couple of years, some talented youngsters, one of whom was Armond’s son Jason, wanted to form a new group and revive the name. After some negotiation with Armond, who still owned the name and all the rights to products connected to it(logos, recordings, etc.), all of that was sold to the youngsters, and presumably, a “new” Imperials era was underway, with the blessing of the lone remaining original member with any connection to the group.

However, the “new” Imperials, for one reason or another, have not caught on as their predecessors did. And restlessness began to develop among other members of the old group, who seemed to want to use their past glory to help support themselves in their advancing years.

I’m not absolutely sure of the sequence of events here, but I believe that first it was ex-group manager and pianist Joe Moscheo, along with ex-group singers Terry Blackwood and Sherman Andrus(whose spinoff group Andrus, Blackwood and Company has almost been forgotten by fans of Christian music), who wanted to form a “classic Imperials” group and work some dates, trading on the recognition they got while with the group during their most popular era.

Then Morales wanted to get ex-group tenor Jim Murray and a couple of others to form another “classic Imperials” group to do mission work based in Hawaii, so he got a hold of the “new” Imperials and asked permission to use the name in that capacity. Permission was granted, and soon the “fun” began.

Morales then got former Imperial David Will to join him, Murray, and someone named Rick Evans(your guess is as good as mine where HE fits in in Imperials’ history), and THEN decided he wanted to base his group in Nashville and work the “circuit”…which caused some alarm to members of the “new” Imperials.

To further muddy things, Blackwood’s and Moscheo’s group also has intentions of working the circuit, and have already started a website staking their claim to not only be the real “classic Imperials”, but the Imperials who worked with Elvis Presley before the Stamps Quartet got that gig permanently.

OK, see what’s going on now? Granted, Moscheo, Blackwood, and Andrus WERE with the group when they worked with Presley, but it’s hard to swallow that as a rationale for calling their group the “classic Imperials”. First, the Presley years were not even the Imperials’ most popular period, lasting for just under three years. Second, Andrus was only in the group for five years, which would hardly make him a group “mainstay”. That and the fact that there are out and out misrepresentations on their website(Moscheo was called the group’s bass singer as well as manager), and at the risk of sounding incredibly cynical, it seems likely that this whole thing is three guys who were in a big group at one time, who need work, and are “gravytraining” off their old glory. And they’ve never talked to the “real” Imperials, so to speak.


As for Morales’ group, at least they consulted with the owners of the group’s name…and between Morales, Murray, and Will, their service with the Imperials dwarfs that of the Blackwood group. But their fourth man is someone named Rick Evans…all together now….WHO???? Rick may be a great singer, but unless he is the second coming of Jake Hess, his being in the group cheapens the concept of them being any kind of “classic Imperials”(not unlike how “classic Coke” cheapened the Coca-Cola brand name). And what made Morales decide to want to turn around and compete with his successors for audience(and his own son, to boot)?

Stay tuned for the “rest” of the story…this should be interesting. If it shows anything, it shows us that regardless of all the talk of “ministry” in connection with Christian music groups, it’s still the music business…with all that comes with it.

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