Rev. Julius "June" Cheeks (August 7, 1929 – January 27, 1981) was an Americangospel singer, who enjoyed the majority of his success withThe Sensational Nightingales.^[1]

In 1954, he became a preacher but continued performing full-time until 1960. His children are Rae-Sheaun Cheeks, June Cheeks and his daughter is singerJudy Cheeks.^[2]

Cheeks began singing in the second grade, quitting school to pick cotton and work service stations.^[3] He joined a local gospel group dubbed the Baronets and in 1946 he was spotted by the Rev. B.L. Parks, a former Dixie Hummingbird and tapped to join a group called the Nightingales. At the height of their popularity they cut several sides forDecca Records.

To make ends meet Cheeks briefly joined the Soul Stirrers, rejoining the Nightingales during the early 1950s. During the 1950s, the Nightingales had a number of hits including "Somewhere to Lay My Head" and "The Last Mile of the Way". Due to popularity, they rechristened themselves the Sensational Nightingales.^[4] In the 1950s, Cheeks was ordained as a minister in the Church of Holiness Science inDetroit; Cheeks, who had dropped out of school at an early age, was largelyilliterate for most of his life, but developed a profound knowledge of the Bible via recordings on78rpm gramophone discs.

During this time Cheeks also toured and recorded with theMighty Clouds of Joy.^[5] After going into semi-retirement in 1960, Cheeks returned to action with a new group, the Four Knights.

• 1929 births
• 1981 deaths
• American gospel singers
• Singers from South Carolina
• Decca Records artists
• 20th-century American singers
• 20th-century American male singers

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