Sherman “George Jefferson” Hemsley’s Prog Rock Past

I don’t know about you, but I’d have neve guessed that Sherman Hemsley was any kind of a prog guy. Yet he was.

In fact, back in 1999, Sherm recorded a full album with Jon Anderson of Yes.  A full-on freakin’ rock opera with all the lyrics contributed by Hemsley.  Sadly, Festival of Dreams has never been released.

He was also a big fan of Gong (to whom he had a whole room dedicated in his house) and Gentle Giant.

But George was also an early adopter of rap (or something kind of like it) as this 1980 single, “Ain’t That a Kick” illustrates.  You’re welcome.

Oh, and he once ran an LSD lab in his basement.  But that’s another story entirely.