Biography

Ira Tucker was born on May 17, 1925 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. He was married to Louise Eleanor Archie. He died on June 24, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

He eschewed the traditional gospel performance style of standing in one place on stage. He jumped off the stage, ran up and down the aisles, and sang on his knees.

He was in his teens when he auditioned for the Dixie Hummingbirds' founder, James B. Davis, in the late 1930s.

The Hummingbirds gained national attention when they sang backup on Paul Simon's 1973 hit song "Loves Me Like a Rock". They also produced their own version, which won a Grammy Award for best soul gospel performance.

He was the longtime lead vocalist of the Dixie Hummingbirds, a gospel group which influenced the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Shirley Caesar, and Bobby Blue Bland, among others.

He started out as a tenor, moved on to baritone, and sometimes dropped into the bass range.

I was blessed. I never did hurt myself doing it. [commenting on his physically active performance style, in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune in 2004]