American rock musician; one of 13 farm kids. Four of the boys formed a rock group with vocals and instrumentals entitled “The Chamber Brothers.” They moved from gospel to soul to international rock stars with albums that included “The Chamber Brothers Greatest Hits” in 1978 and five U.S. Top 100 hits.
The Chambers siblings – bassist George, guitarist Willie, harpist Lester, and guitarist Joe, all of whom
contributed vocals – were born and raised in Lee County, Mississippi to an impoverished sharecropping family. In the 1950s the group sang gospel music in the choir of their Baptist church until George was drafted into the army in 1952. They resettled in Los Angeles and began performing gospel and folk
throughout Southern California in 1954, but remained virtually unknown until appearing in New York City in 1965. The Chambers Brothers crossed racial and musical lines to create a fusion of funk, gospel, blues, and psychedelic soul that peaked in 1968 with “Time Has Come Today.” The addition of white drummer Brian Keenan made the Chambers Brothers an interracial group, and moved them closer to rock & roll. They were well-received at the Newport Folk Festival, and soon recorded their debut LP, “People Get Ready.” The follow-up, “A New Time – A New Day,” yielded another Top 40 hit.
Subsequent efforts were not as commercially successful. Upon completing 1972’s “Oh My God!” which remained unreleased, the Chambers Brothers disbanded, but reunited two years later for “Unbonded.” “Right Move” appeared in 1975, and the group regularly performed live in the following decades. The brothers also pursued individual projects and the Chambers Family Choir, a gospel group including the siblings’ own children, remained a priority as well.
Link to Wikipedia page of The Chambers Brothers