Biography
Pha Terrell earned his principal recognition through vocal duties in Andy Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy. His uncommon given name could surface on a Vietnamese menu after a single vowel change. Associates sometimes called him Elmer. Kirk encountered the singer in the early thirties while Terrell balanced roles as dancer, vocalist, and part-time operator inside a Kansas City club. From 1933 until 1941 Terrell appeared with the Kirk ensemble, then moved to Indianapolis, a city then alive with jazz activity. There he performed in Clarence Love's Orchestra, the romantically styled leader whose territory unit routinely secured strings of one-nighters. Following the familiar path of many stand-up vocalists, Terrell chose independence and launched that effort from the West Coast. A kidney ailment ended his life just as the solo phase opened. Surviving recordings divide evenly between Kirk anthologies and thematic compilations devoted to early R&B or the Kansas City scene. His foremost success with the band arrived via the 1936 hit "Until the Real Thing Comes Along." Another highlight, "All the Jive Is Gone," prompts some listeners to pun the title as "Pha Out!" Others who find his high tenor eerie or abrasive may hear the same title as commentary on his departure from the Kirk group.