Opal Louis Nations (born 1941) is a British-American-Canadian writer, music historian, critic, record producer, musician and visual artist from Brighton, England.
In the 1960s Nations was the lead singer with Decca recording artists The Frays. The group is best known for its cover version of Jerry Butler & The Impressions’ hit "For Your Precious Love". The session featured Nicky Hopkins on piano and John McLaughlin on guitar.
Nations also sang in Alexis Korner's short-lived gospel quartet and opened as a soloist for Wilson Pickett at the Flamingo Club in London in 1965 on Pickett's first tour of the U.K. He made guest appearances on the Long John Baldry Show at London's Marquee Club.
Nations recorded for Decca in 1966 as a solo artist under the moniker Martin Hummingbird. He was backed by a female vocal group and a full orchestra at Decca’s Soho Studios.
In the early 1970s Nations collaborated with Genesis P-Orridge. They formed the Global Infantilist Movement and designed a passport that allowed babies to travel anywhere in the world. At public events, they gave out pacifier prizes to the cutest babies.
Nations collaborated with artists such as Felipe Ehrenberg and Robert Amos, and poet David Bromige and writer and artist Allen Fisher.
Nations is the author of more than 600 short works of fiction and criticism published in journals and publications such as
Nations is the author of more than 60 books of experimental fiction and artwork. His first published work, an experimental piece inspired by William S. Burroughs, appeared in 1969 in Michael Moorcock's New Worlds science fiction magazine in England.
Between the years of 1970 and 1980 Nations was the editor of Strange Faeces, a journal of experimental fiction, poetry and artwork that ran for 20 issues featuring works of John Giorno, Ron Padgett, Joe Brainard, Anne Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, Larry Fagin, Clark Coolidge, Andrei Codrescu, Keith Abbott, Glen Baxter and David Mayor. Strange Faeces also published translations of French writers such as Tristan Tzara, Paul Eluard, and Rene Char, among others.
Nations has worked extensively on the history of Gospel Music and Rhythm and Blues. He is the author of over 130 sets of liner notes including:
Nations is the author of Sensational Nightingales: The Story of Joseph “Jo Jo’ Wallace And the Early Days of the Sensational Nightingales, published by Black Scat Books in 2013
Many of his manuscripts are housed in the Opal Louis Nations Collection in the Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana University in the United States.[1]
The Opal Louis Nations Black Gospel Collection of musical recordings, books and photographs were donated to Baylor University in Waco, Texas on September 1, 2023 to become part of The Black Gospel Music Preservation Project. [2]
Nations is a regular feature writer for the British magazine, Blues & Rhythm, with articles on blues and gospel artists such as Chick Willis, Wynona Carr, Johnny Heartsman, Linda Hopkins, The Staple Singers and Wings Over Jordan Choir.
He is the co-producer and appears in the music documentary How They Got Over: Gospel Quartets and the Road to Rock and Roll directed by Robert Clem in 2013.
In 2013 Nations was extensively interviewed for the German television documentary Soul Power.
Nations hosted weekly R&B and world music shows on KPFA in Berkeley, California, United States for 14 years, and also hosted and did numerous appearances on KUSP in Santa Cruz, KPOO and KALW in San Francisco.[3]
Nations married Ellen Nations in 1970. They live in Oakland, California in the United States.