Eastern Star Chorale was the mixed chorus of Eastern Star Baptist Church. The group was led by pianist, composer, and arranger Jimmy Connor. “Until You Try Jesus” is the B-side of the group’s only recording, a 45 released by Grace Gospel in 1974. Soloist Esther Connor remembers that:
Jimmy Connor was a talented musician. Everybody knew him. He wrote music, played, and directed all around Louisville. I lived a few doors down from the Connor family growing up and we all went to Eastern Star. The Eastern Star Mixed Chorus was our church choir and Jimmy, my brother-in-law, was the brains of the whole thing. I sang in the choir. My husband Fred Connor sang in the choir. My brother Eddie sang in the choir. There were probably twenty of us. On Sunday evenings we’d go to different churches to play programs around Louisville. Sometimes we’d go on day trips out into the state and play programs in Chaplin, Bloomfield, or Bowling Green. We once won first place at the Louisville Defender Home Show.
Jimmy played piano and sometimes organ, but Annetta Styles played organ on this recording. She was one of the best organists you ever heard. She could play. Jimmy wanted to make a record. He wrote this song and asked if I would lead it.
Jimmy left Louisville and went to Chicago where he played and recorded with Maceo Woods and The Christian Tabernacle Choir. He played with Albertina Walker, too.
