The Dixie Hummingbirds
The Dixie Hummingbirds are one of the most influential American gospel singing groups and have played a key role in the development of gospel for 80 years.
Band history
The Dixie Hummingbirds were founded in 1928 by James B. Davis and some school friends in Greenville , South Carolina . They sang in churches in their home area. After finishing school, they went on tour in the southern United States.
In 1938, only 13-year-old Ira Tucker joined the Hummingbirds as lead singer. The group's first recordings appeared the following year. In 1942 they moved to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Her popularity grew steadily, not least because of Tucker's extraordinary stage presence and vocal qualities.
The Hummingbirds experienced some line-up changes over time. The 1952 line-up , which lasted for nearly a quarter of a century, is widely considered to be the best: Ira Tucker, James B. Davis, Willie Bobo, Beachey Thompson, James Walker, and guitarist Howard Carroll.
After their acclaimed appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, the Hummingbirds withdrew from the stage business and only appeared in churches. In 1973, however, they accompanied Paul Simon on his hit Loves Me Like a Rock . For this recording, the Dixie Hummingbirds were awarded a Grammy Award in 1974 for best soul gospel performance.
Willie Bobo died in 1976, Davis retired from music in 1984, Walker died in 1992 and Thompson in 1994, but Tucker kept the Dixie Hummingbirds alive with new singers.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the stage, filmmaker Jeff Scheftel released the documentary The Dixie Hummingbirds: 80 Years Young in spring 2008 . Ira Tucker, who until recently was the head of the Dixie Hummingsbirds, died on June 24, 2008.
The Hummingbirds influenced many other artists including Jackie Wilson , Bobby "Blue" Bland , James Brown and the Temptations , to name a few.
literature
- Jerry Zolen: Great God A 'Mighty! : The Dixie Hummingbirds - Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music . Oxford University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-19-515272-7 .
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 26f