The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, span… Read Full Bio ↴The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of Gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today.
Formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by James B. Davis and his classmates, they sang in local churches until they finished school, then started touring throughout the South.
Lead singer Ira Tucker joined the group in 1938 at age 13, and they signed with Decca Records. In addition to his formidable vocal skills, Tucker introduced the energetic showmanship - running through the aisles, jumping off stage, falling to his knees in prayer - copied by many quartets that followed. Tucker also took the lead in the stylistic innovations adopted by the group, combining gospel shouting and subtle melismas with the syncopated delivery made popular by The Golden Gate Quartet, as well as adventuresome harmonies, which the group called "trickeration", in which Paul Owens or another member of the group would pick up a note just as Tucker left off. The group relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1940s.
During the years, a number of talented singers starred in the group—their bass, William Bobo (known as Thunder), tenor Beachey Thompson, James Walker (who replaced Owens), and Claude Jeter, who went on to star for The Swan Silvertones. The Hummingbirds added a guitarist, Howard Carroll, who added even more propulsive force to their high-flying vocals.
The Hummingbirds absorbed much from other artists as well, performing with Lester Young in the 1940s and sharing Django Reinhardt records with B.B. King in the 1950s. Tucker and the Hummingbirds inspired a number of imitators, such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who adapted the shouting style and enthusiastic showmanship of hard gospel to secular themes to help create soul music in the 1960s.
The group recorded for a number of different labels over the years, while touring the circuit of black churches and gospel extravaganzas. They occasionally came to the attention of white listeners—at Café Society, the integrated New York nightclub favored by jazz cognoscenti, in 1942, at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, and as backup for Paul Simon on the 1973 single "Loves Me Like a Rock". For a long time, the group was signed to Don Robey's Peacock Records, based in Houston, Texas. In 1973, Robey sold Peacock to ABC Records, which released a cover of "Loves Me Like a Rock," produced by Walter "Kandor" Kahn and the group's lead vocalist Ira Tucker, which reached #72 on Billboard Magazine's Top 100 R&B Singles chart. The single also won a Grammy for "Best Soul Gospel Performance". Kahn and Tucker produced an album for ABC entitled We Love You Like A Rock. The album contained Stevie Wonder's "Jesus Children", on which Wonder played keyboards.
At that time, the group consisted of five vocalists: Ira Tucker Sr., James Davis, Beachey Thompson, James Walker and William Bobo. Howard Carroll was the group's guitarist. The group now consists of William Bright (vocals), Carlton Lewis, III (vocals), Torrey Nettles (drums/vocals),) and Lyndon Baines Jones (guitar & vocals and Ira Tucker, Jr (vocals)
In 1973 The group sang the backup vocals on Paul Simon's "Loves Me Like a Rock", and "Tenderness", from his album "There Goes Rhymin' Simon".
In 2003, the Hummingbirds were the subject of an award-winning book about their 75-year career span, Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music [Oxford University Press] by Jerry Zolten. The book was favorably reviewed in The New York Times. 2-26-2003.
In February 2008, the first feature-length documentary/concert film featuring the life and history of the Dixie Hummingbirds was released in commemoration of their extraordinary eighty years as performers. The Dixie Hummingbirds: Eighty Years Young has been shown on the Gospel Music Channel and has played at numerous film festivals. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeff Scheftel, and executive produced by University of Hawaii musicologist Jay Junker, the film is now available on DVD, featuring extensive interviews with Ira Tucker, Sr., archival footage, and following the current group as they perform in numerous venues and rehearse under Mr. Tucker's spirited guidance, in their hometown of Philadelphia, and across the vast landscape of America.
Ira Tucker, Sr. died due to complications from heart disease on the morning of June 24, 2008, at the age of 83. The group will go on, thereby preserving the rich legacy left by Tucker, James Davis, William Bobo, Beachey Thompson, James Walker, Howard Carroll, et al., with possible new additions to their personnel down the road.
Howard Carroll, the guitarist, died in October 2017.
Awards and recognition
The Dixie Hummingbirds Grammy Award History
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
2007 Best Traditional Gospel Album Still Keeping It Real Gospel MCG Nominee
2000 Best Traditional Gospel Album Music In The Air Gospel House Of Blues Nominee
1994 Best Traditional Gospel Album In Good Health Gospel Atlanta International Nominee
1973 Best Soul Gospel Performance "Loves Me Like a Rock" Gospel MCG Winner
Grammy Hall of Fame[edit]
Recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Grammy Hall of Fame
Year Recorded Title Artist Genre Label Year Inducted
1946 "Amazing Grace" The Dixie Hummingbirds Gospel (Single) Apollo 2000
Inductions
Year Inducted Title
2007 Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum
2000 Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Members: William Bright, Lyndon Jones, Torrey Nettles, Carlton Lewis, and Adebo Wali (Ira Tucker Jr)
Past members: James Davis (1916-2007) (founder), Ira Tucker (1925-2008) (lead singer), Willie Bobo, Jimmy Bryant, Barney Gipson, Claude Jeter (1914-2009), J.B. Matterson, Fred Owens, Paul Owens, Barney Parks, Beachy Thompson, James Walker, William Henry (bass) (1922-1997), Howard Carroll (1924-2017) guitarist, Willie Coleman, bass guitarist and vocals
Formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by James B. Davis and his classmates, they sang in local churches until they finished school, then started touring throughout the South.
Lead singer Ira Tucker joined the group in 1938 at age 13, and they signed with Decca Records. In addition to his formidable vocal skills, Tucker introduced the energetic showmanship - running through the aisles, jumping off stage, falling to his knees in prayer - copied by many quartets that followed. Tucker also took the lead in the stylistic innovations adopted by the group, combining gospel shouting and subtle melismas with the syncopated delivery made popular by The Golden Gate Quartet, as well as adventuresome harmonies, which the group called "trickeration", in which Paul Owens or another member of the group would pick up a note just as Tucker left off. The group relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1940s.
During the years, a number of talented singers starred in the group—their bass, William Bobo (known as Thunder), tenor Beachey Thompson, James Walker (who replaced Owens), and Claude Jeter, who went on to star for The Swan Silvertones. The Hummingbirds added a guitarist, Howard Carroll, who added even more propulsive force to their high-flying vocals.
The Hummingbirds absorbed much from other artists as well, performing with Lester Young in the 1940s and sharing Django Reinhardt records with B.B. King in the 1950s. Tucker and the Hummingbirds inspired a number of imitators, such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who adapted the shouting style and enthusiastic showmanship of hard gospel to secular themes to help create soul music in the 1960s.
The group recorded for a number of different labels over the years, while touring the circuit of black churches and gospel extravaganzas. They occasionally came to the attention of white listeners—at Café Society, the integrated New York nightclub favored by jazz cognoscenti, in 1942, at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, and as backup for Paul Simon on the 1973 single "Loves Me Like a Rock". For a long time, the group was signed to Don Robey's Peacock Records, based in Houston, Texas. In 1973, Robey sold Peacock to ABC Records, which released a cover of "Loves Me Like a Rock," produced by Walter "Kandor" Kahn and the group's lead vocalist Ira Tucker, which reached #72 on Billboard Magazine's Top 100 R&B Singles chart. The single also won a Grammy for "Best Soul Gospel Performance". Kahn and Tucker produced an album for ABC entitled We Love You Like A Rock. The album contained Stevie Wonder's "Jesus Children", on which Wonder played keyboards.
At that time, the group consisted of five vocalists: Ira Tucker Sr., James Davis, Beachey Thompson, James Walker and William Bobo. Howard Carroll was the group's guitarist. The group now consists of William Bright (vocals), Carlton Lewis, III (vocals), Torrey Nettles (drums/vocals),) and Lyndon Baines Jones (guitar & vocals and Ira Tucker, Jr (vocals)
In 1973 The group sang the backup vocals on Paul Simon's "Loves Me Like a Rock", and "Tenderness", from his album "There Goes Rhymin' Simon".
In 2003, the Hummingbirds were the subject of an award-winning book about their 75-year career span, Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music [Oxford University Press] by Jerry Zolten. The book was favorably reviewed in The New York Times. 2-26-2003.
In February 2008, the first feature-length documentary/concert film featuring the life and history of the Dixie Hummingbirds was released in commemoration of their extraordinary eighty years as performers. The Dixie Hummingbirds: Eighty Years Young has been shown on the Gospel Music Channel and has played at numerous film festivals. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeff Scheftel, and executive produced by University of Hawaii musicologist Jay Junker, the film is now available on DVD, featuring extensive interviews with Ira Tucker, Sr., archival footage, and following the current group as they perform in numerous venues and rehearse under Mr. Tucker's spirited guidance, in their hometown of Philadelphia, and across the vast landscape of America.
Ira Tucker, Sr. died due to complications from heart disease on the morning of June 24, 2008, at the age of 83. The group will go on, thereby preserving the rich legacy left by Tucker, James Davis, William Bobo, Beachey Thompson, James Walker, Howard Carroll, et al., with possible new additions to their personnel down the road.
Howard Carroll, the guitarist, died in October 2017.
Awards and recognition
The Dixie Hummingbirds Grammy Award History
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
2007 Best Traditional Gospel Album Still Keeping It Real Gospel MCG Nominee
2000 Best Traditional Gospel Album Music In The Air Gospel House Of Blues Nominee
1994 Best Traditional Gospel Album In Good Health Gospel Atlanta International Nominee
1973 Best Soul Gospel Performance "Loves Me Like a Rock" Gospel MCG Winner
Grammy Hall of Fame[edit]
Recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Grammy Hall of Fame
Year Recorded Title Artist Genre Label Year Inducted
1946 "Amazing Grace" The Dixie Hummingbirds Gospel (Single) Apollo 2000
Inductions
Year Inducted Title
2007 Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum
2000 Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Members: William Bright, Lyndon Jones, Torrey Nettles, Carlton Lewis, and Adebo Wali (Ira Tucker Jr)
Past members: James Davis (1916-2007) (founder), Ira Tucker (1925-2008) (lead singer), Willie Bobo, Jimmy Bryant, Barney Gipson, Claude Jeter (1914-2009), J.B. Matterson, Fred Owens, Paul Owens, Barney Parks, Beachy Thompson, James Walker, William Henry (bass) (1922-1997), Howard Carroll (1924-2017) guitarist, Willie Coleman, bass guitarist and vocals
The Final Edition
The Dixie Hummingbirds Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by The Dixie Hummingbirds:
Are You Ready Well, are you ready now – Hallelujah! To see your savior's…
Beam From Heaven Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a…
Christian's Automobile Oh, you know that every (Ev'ry child, ev'ry child of God) Ru…
City of Gold There is a city of gold Far from the rat-race that…
Have a Talk With God There are people who have let the problems of today Lead…
Heaven Heaven help the child who never had a home, Heaven help…
How Great Thou Art Oh Lord my God When I in awesome wonder Considered all the…
I Lay down my dear brother, lay down and take your…
I Just Want to Tell You Ohhhhh, I just want to tell you How good the lord…
I Must Have Jesus There's a hero If you look inside your heart You don't hav…
I'll Be Satisfied Don't you know that I, I'll be satisfied (I'll be Satisfied)…
Is There Anyone In Heaven That You Know Oh, when you walk by every night Talking sweet and looking…
Love Me Like A Rock (Mhm, that's that, that's that groove) When I was a little…
Move On Up A Little Higher One of these mornings Soon one morning I'm gonna lay down …
Nobody Knows The Trouble I See Oh children, nobody knows the trouble I've seen Oh, nobody …
Oh I Want To See Him As I journey through the land, singing as I go Pointing…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
@blavis50Micah
Well I'm A News Reporter for my God's Word
Jesus came here in time
And the good news I'm talking will ease a trouble mind
The subject of the book is Christianity
And it's headlined with religion
I don't care how many books you read
The Bible is the final edition
I'm singing (Extra) DId you forget to pray ( Extra) You better do it today (oh Extra) And you will understand that the Bible is the best book in the Land
Moses was one of God's Holy Writers The 10 Commandments He wrote
With his rod and the will of God, the red sea He did smote
Job was a man of patience, His wife said his secret is Faith.
When he picked up his pen and began to write, He wrote I'm gonna wait on my change
The Bible is Final Edition, You ought to keep on reading God news
You have your preference in your head, be careful how you choose
?? Well now peace and yard makers ??
Jesus told I'll charge you now
This i know, for he told me so
The Sermon he preach on the mount
Corrections if anyone can provide any
@mauricemason7135
A True gospel treasure you simply don't hear anymore!
@richardtimmerman6486
RIP Howard Carroll - a superb guitarist (died 17/10/17). Awesome to see that he actually commented on this video!
@typrsn1
He did indeed. I have a chance to communicate with him via Facebook before I suspended my account. He will be missed.
@dellphinelingo69
i can"t get enough listen to this song;the verses in it,is taring me APART!!!!!!!!!!!WELL DONE.........
@willjoke4food
man my dad had the 45...we played this to pieces when we discovered it.
@typrsn1
I'm glad to hear that this is such a blessing to you. That's exactly what Ira and the Birds would have wanted.
@typrsn1
One of their all time greats penned by Ira Tucker himself. My favorite old school male group of all time.
@calgibson6052
Mama always loved those Hummingbirds. I do too.
@howardcarroll4255
I want to thank you for posting the álbum notes. The connection of our music, gospel which evolved from the spiritual as the álbum notes say the slaves singing was the struggle to survive, sometimes the only weapon to their survival. And for us the Dixie Hummingbirds to be commended as a voice of that struggle is such a great honor. Thank you. Howard Carroll of the Dixie Hummingbirds
@typrsn1
My pleasure Mr. Carroll. Thanks for so many wonderful contributions over so many years. May the Lord continue to bless you sir.