James Davis dies

[brownie]

From The New York Times today.

JAMES DAVIS, 90, LEADER OF LONGTIME GOSPEL GROUP, IS DEAD

By BEN SISARIO

Published: April 28, 2007

James B. Davis, the leader of the Dixie Hummingbirds, one of the longest-lasting and most influential groups in gospel music, died on April 17 in Philadelphia. He was 90 and lived in Philadelphia.

His death was announced by the group.

Mr. Davis was 12 when he started the group in 1928 with members of his church choir in Greenville, S.C. Spanning almost the entire history of the genre, the Hummingbirds have continued to the present day.

At its peak in the 1940s and ’50s, the group was one of gospel’s most popular and innovative, with shouting lead parts and walking basslines in songs like “Thank You for One More Day,” “Trouble in My Way” and “Bedside of a Neighbor” that influenced soul and R & B stars like Hank Ballard, Bobby (Blue) Bland and the Temptations.

Though the most prominent voices on its records were those of the tenors Ira Tucker and James Walker and the bass Willie Bobo, the group’s driving force from the beginning was Mr. Davis. A self-taught businessman and strict disciplinarian, he oversaw its activities and enforced a set of rules — no cursing, alcohol or socializing with women, among other commandments. Infractions were punishable by fines, and Mr. Davis was not exempt: he once charged himself $20 for playing a blues record on a jukebox.

Briefly known at the start as the Sterling High School Quartet, the Hummingbirds spent the 1930s touring Southern churches, with a sweet but staid sound. But when Mr. Tucker joined in 1939, its performances became incendiary. With a style borrowed from Southern preachers, Mr. Tucker wailed, hollered and gesticulated, and sometimes leaped into the audience, anticipating the stage antics of James Brown.

Mr. Davis set much of the group’s musical agenda, including its use of electric guitar. And he was versatile when he needed to be. He started as a lead tenor but switched to baritone to accommodate other singers; when another tenor was needed, he switched back and taught the bass to sing baritone.

In 1942 the group played the Cafe Society Downtown in New York, appearing as the Jericho Quartet with the jazz saxophonist Lester Young. The Hummingbirds played the Newport Folk Festival in 1966 and sang with Paul Simon on his 1973 song “Loves Me Like a Rock.”

Throughout the group’s history, Mr. Davis maintained a strong connection to the circuit of Southern churches. After “Loves Me Like a Rock” went to No. 2, Mr. Simon invited the group to join him on tour. But the Hummingbirds turned him down because they had church engagements already booked.

The Dixie Hummingbirds won a 1973 Grammy Award in the soul gospel category for its own version of “Loves Me Like a Rock” and was nominated this year for best traditional gospel album, for “Still Keeping It Real” (MCG Records).

Mr. Davis retired in 1984.

He is survived by five children, James Davis Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.; Harold Davis of Willingboro, N.J.; and Arthur Davis, Betty Chambers and Janice Washington, all of Philadelphia; and numerous grandchildren.

In Anthony Heilbut’s 1971 book “The Gospel Sound,” Mr. Tucker’s son, Ira Tucker Jr., remembered that the group’s leader was always referred to as “Mr. James Davis.”

“Not because he was mean,” he said, “but by the way he carried himself. You know, those men are scared of him. He doesn’t curse, he doesn’t yell, but he keeps them in line.”