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 The
Dixie Hummingbirds are an institution. While they have always
remained deeply rooted in the gospel tradition, their influence
has made itself known far and wide in American popular music.
Perhaps Isaac Hayes has put it most eloquently: "In the beginning,
after the word, and before there was rap, hip-hop, disco, punk,
funk, metal, soul, Motown, rock-a-billy, before bebop, doo-wop,
and the big band swing there was the Dixie Hummingbirds."
The group began their remarkable journey in 1920s Greenville,
South Carolina, organized by gospel great James B. Davis, then
12 years old. After singing together in church through their
high school years, Davis and his friends embarked on a ten-year
stint of "wildcatting" - taking their act on the road to build
up a reputation. In 1939, they began recording on the prestigious
Decca label, and in the early 1940s they moved to Philadelphia,
where easy access to a range of venues allowed them to make
a name for themselves on an even larger scale.
By 1942, the Dixie Hummingbirds were wowing audiences at Cafe
Society, New York's first integrated nightclub, backed by legendary
jazz saxophonist Lester Young. In the 1950s, they routinely
brought down the house at the Apollo Theater. The group broke
into the popular consciousness in 1966 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=2M_OY88YYms),
when they prompted a standing ovation at the Newport Folk Festival,
and still greater fame was in store in 1973, when they backed
Paul Simon on his smash hit "Loves Me Like a Rock." The Birds'
own rendition of the tune won them a Grammy in 1974. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4eDGUfvh6PQ)
But the truth is that long before mainstream America knew their
name, they knew their music. Retired patriarch Davis is fond
of noting that the Dixie Hummingbirds have typically been about
a decade ahead of the curve. In the 1940s, for example, they
were singing the kind of a cappella harmonies that caught on
as doo-wop in the 1950s, and in the 1950s, they added electric
guitar to their sound with the addition of Howard Carroll who
is heralded as the most progressive guitarist of his time and
possibly this century, pre-figuring the soul music of the 1960s.
Lead singer Ira Tucker, Sr., who has been with the group since
1938, when he was 13, was especially inspired and inspiring.
Musicologist Horace Boyer writes that "not only did he put his
voice and vocal technique to use, he also became the model for
the 'activity' singer. He ran up and down aisles, jumped from
the stage, and spun around without sacrificing one iota of the
pure musical sound that he first brought to the quartet. Indeed,
he served as the model for many of the rhythm and blues and
soul singers from Jackie Wilson and Clyde McPhatter to Bobby
Blue Bland, Stevie Wonder and the Temptations."
At the turn of the century time took its toll on the Dixie Hummingbirds.
After their 70th Anniversary many of the members retired, all
but one, Ira Tucker. And now on the eve on celebrating the 80th
Anniversary of the Dixie Hummingbirds in 2008, indeed he is
"The Last Man Standing" and by all means "Still Keeping It Real".
After singing 69 years with the Birds' Tucker chose an elite
group of young men to help carry the Legacy of the Dixie Hummingbirds
in to uncharted waters, 8 decades of faith-based song. This
legacy is now one step closer to being fulfilled with the album
Still Keeping It Real....The Last Man Standing nominated
at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007.
Currently the Dixie Hummingbirds consists of 6 members and over
sixty years separating the members, with Ira Tucker the senior
and lead singer at 82, William Bright, baritone and former lead
singer of the apprentice group "Sons of the Birds", Lyndon Baines
Jones lead guitarist, Willie Coleman bass guitarist, Torrey
Nettles with the double duty of tenor singer and drummer, and
last but not least bass singer Cornell McKnight.
As The Dixie Hummingbirds embark on their 80th Anniversary in
2008 and Ira Tucker celebrates 70 years of non-stop performances
they are renown as National Treasures. The legacy of the Bird's
will live on forever through the mural and street dedication
on 15th and Dixie Hummingbirds Way in Philadelphia.
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