Biography
The Paschall Brothers came together in March 1981 in Norfolk, Virginia, when Rev. Frank A. Paschall, Sr., assembled five of his seven sons into the group then billed as Rev. Frank Paschall & the Pasachall Brothers. Their focus centered on the African American roots gospel idiom that developed after the Civil War, expressed through the regional Tidewater gospel manner.
Membership shifted in 1984 when two brothers exited and Renard Freeman entered, locking in the classic quintet of Frank Sr., Frank Jr., Freeman, Tarrence Paschall, and William Paschall. After Rev. Frank’s death in 1999, Jonnie Lewis joined to preserve the five-voice format; when Lewis and William Paschall, Sr., later departed, Tarrance Paschall, Jr., and Renard Freeman, Jr., filled the vacancies, turning the Paschall Brothers into a multi-generational unit.
Through every alteration the ensemble retained its Tidewater foundation. Virginia Folklife Records released the debut album Songs for Our Father in 2003, and Smithsonian/Folkways followed with On the Right Road Now in 2007.
Membership shifted in 1984 when two brothers exited and Renard Freeman entered, locking in the classic quintet of Frank Sr., Frank Jr., Freeman, Tarrence Paschall, and William Paschall. After Rev. Frank’s death in 1999, Jonnie Lewis joined to preserve the five-voice format; when Lewis and William Paschall, Sr., later departed, Tarrance Paschall, Jr., and Renard Freeman, Jr., filled the vacancies, turning the Paschall Brothers into a multi-generational unit.
Through every alteration the ensemble retained its Tidewater foundation. Virginia Folklife Records released the debut album Songs for Our Father in 2003, and Smithsonian/Folkways followed with On the Right Road Now in 2007.
Albums