Ira Tucker Sr. Lead Singer of Dixie Hummingbirds Gospel Group Dies

For 70 years Tucker and the Hummingbirds gave high-energy, emotion-drenched shows designed to please the Lord and wow audiences. He was 83

The group influenced a long list of R & B artists and could have crossed over from gospel to secular music. But that was one boundary Tucker and the group were not willing to erase.

“I was in a record executive's office with $44 in my pocket," Tucker once said. “And he was offering me $10,000 to sing rhythm and blues. But we turned it down because we started in the church, and we had more respect for God than that." Tucker died of heart failure Tuesday at an extended care facility in Philadelphia, said his son, Ira Tucker Jr. He was 83.

The versatile performer, who sang baritone, tenor and sometimes bass, also wrote songs, including “Christian's Automobile" and “In the Morning." During the early years of his tenure, when the group was struggling to distinguish itself from other a cappella outfits, Tucker began to help the group forge a unique sound and style.

“He really moved the Dixie Hummingbirds into what we call the 'soul gospel' era, which would roughly be throughout the 1950s," said Jerry Zolten, author of “Great God A'mighty: The Dixie Hummingbirds Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music." “We begin hearing instrumental accompaniment. We begin hearing that expression of angst and soulfulness that we associate with the best of Southern soul. We began to hear a different kind of rhythmic feel."