If Jessie Fisher had lived, he might have blown up the gospel field. If not, he would surely be living in the United Kingdom, playing clubs, working an easy nine-to-five job, and recording on occasion. Fisher died before realizing the fruit of his four singles: three on Cleveland, OH's Way Out and one on So Jamm Records. All are sought by foreign collectors and feature Fisher's bloodcurdling, squalling tenor; a couple appear on various Northern soul compilations. He's the oldest of Ruby Fisher's two sons; Richard Fisher, a singer himself, sang in a Cleveland recording group called the Five Fabulous Flames (aka the Fabulous Flames), as well as the Jive Five, in the '70s.

The brothers attended high school in Birmingham, AL, with Barbara Lomax (B.T. Express), Frederick Knight, Roger Hatcher, and Bill Spoon (aka William Bell), the lead singer of the Soul Notes. Also friends were Birmingham natives Paul Williams and Corn Bread (Eddie Kendrick), who came to Cleveland shortly after the Fishers. The future Temptations worked day jobs at the Majestic Hotel and performed with contortionist Estella Caldonia Young at night. Fisher is unknown to most Cleveland residents because he never did the bar or club scene; he sang in various churches, but not frequently. Witnesses to his church performances all testify that "the man could sing." In the late '60s and early '70s, he hung out at Way Out Records on East 55th Street trying to get a deal; his perseverance paid off.

Singer and prolific writer Roger Hatcher wrote Fisher's first release, but Mr. Super Nobody b/w Don't Cheat on Me (1973) didn't sell. A second effort, You're Not Loving a Beginner, a William Bell, Walter Dannison, John Calloway (Soul Notes), and John Washington (the Sensations) composition, was a nonstop, up-tempo burner that hard soul lovers raved about, but it never charted. Way Out lacked the money to promote their records properly, and begging and cajoling disc jockeys for airplay only went so far. Fisher remade the Springers' Why and wrote the B-side Little John to complete a hitless trio of singles on Way Out. He surfaced in 1974 to drop his final flop, I Can't Stop Lovin' You, on So Jamm Records. While he shunned bars, he did appear at the WHK Auditorium and other such venues. Fisher died in the mid-'70s from spinal meningitis -- only a few years before a growing appreciation club started to recognize his efforts. ~ Andrew Hamilton, Rovi