Conaly's father; Hugh, was a fine bass singer, as were his brothers Hugh and Rex. His cousin; Dennis, also was a noted singer and a teacher at singing schools in the area.

He graduated from high school in 1950 and joined the Air Force, where he was stationed in Macon, Georgia. There, he met gospel music legend Deacon Utley and befriend him, and then Conley joined a semi-professional quartet called the Travelers.

One fateful night in 1952, Conley and Utley went to a baseball park in Fort Payne, Alabama, where gospel greats Lee Roy Abernathy and Shorty Bradford were singing that evening as the Happy Two. The singers' Cadillac was parked in right field with the doors open, making a makeshift dressing room. Conley and Utley stopped by to say hello.
When Conley said "Hello", he then coughed, and that cough made Abernathy, who was alert to the least little things he heard, take immediate notice. He turned to Bradford and said, "Did you hear that?" When Bradford asked what he was supposed to have heard, Abernathy told him, "That boy's cough, I tell you, he's got that sub-bass register."

Two years later, Abernathy and Bradford were singing in the Homeland Harmony Quartet when the group's great bass singer; Aycel Soward, suddenly decided to quit. Abernathy was in a pinch, and he had to think fast. Since the quartet had a TV show, Abernathy decided to advertise there on the spot for a bass singer. There was no shortage of applicants, 55 men tried out, and 55 were turned down. What was the group to do? Abernathy turned to Bradford, "Remember that feller we saw in Fort Payne two years ago?" Bradford knew who Abernathy was referring to. Abernathy then told Bradford to try and contact Conley. Bradford called Deacon Utley to see if he could find him. Conley happened to be with Utley at that time. Bradford then put Abernathy on the phone. Abernathy asked Conley to come to his house that evening. Naturally, Conley jumped at the chance to visit Abernathy, who put him to work that night to sing bass for the Homeland Harmony Quartet. Understandably, Conley was untrained and raw, and made a number of mistakes in his first concert appearance. But Abernathy, as close to a musical genius as gospel music ever had and knew he could make a great bass singer out of him if he could just work with him, and he did.

Conley's nickname to this point was "Sarge", earned during his Air Force days. He was given the name "London" by Lee Roy Abernathy who discovered him and heard in his voice the potential making of a great bass singer from a simple little cough. From then on, Conley was known for the rest of his life as London Parris.

London Parris started singing in the Rebels Quartet and joined the Blackwood Brothers in the late 60's. He possessed a large, booming bass voice and a dynamic personality that always made him a crowd favorite. In 1971 he started his own group, London Parris and the Apostles.

In 2004, London Parris was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.

London and wife Yvonne had one daughter; Kathy, and two sons; Christopher & David.

On Labor Day of 1992, Parris suffered a heart attack and passed away two days later. He was only 61 years of age.

If you care to listen to a sample of London's famous bass singing..., go to the following link at YouTube.com, and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZBI4bMvPxU&feature=related
∼Gospel Singer. He was a member of the famed Blackwood Brothers Gospel Quartet. He began his singing career with the Atlanta based Homeland Harmony Quartet in 1954. He joined the Rebels Quartet a year later, and sang with them until 1967, eventually joining the Blackwood Brothers the same year. Parris who played with the Blackwood Brothers until 1971, is best remembered for his renditions of the recordings, "At The Crossing", and "Everbody Ought To Know." In 1971, he formed his own gospel quartet, London Parris and the Apostles, in which he played until his death. Born in Alexander, South, Carolina, he was named to the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2004.