Dennis Edwards

Edwards was born in Fairfield, Alabama,[1] about eight miles from Birmingham, to Reverend Dennis Edwards Sr. He began singing as a toddler, just two years old, in his father’s church. The Edwards family moved to Detroit, Michigan when Edwards was about ten years old, and Edwards would continue to sing in the church pastored by his father, eventually becoming choir director.[2]

As a teenager, Edwards joined a gospel vocal group called The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and studied music at the Detroit Conservatory of Music.[2] He was not allowed to sing or listen to secular music at home, and his mother disapproved when he began pursuing a career singing rhythm and blues music.[2] In 1961 he organized his own soul/jazz group, Dennis Edwards and the Fireballs.[3] In 1961,[4] Edwards recorded a single for the obscure Detroit label, International Soulville Records, “I Didn’t Have to (But I Did)” b/w “Johnnie on the Spot”