The Dixie Hummingbirds and Friends: Gospel Praise Songs – Powered by Quartets

The Dixie Hummingbirds and Friends
Gospel Praise Songs – Powered by Quartets (2011)
For information, contact Ms. LaDeva Davis: (267) 918-2814

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

The Dixie Hummingbirds have the distinction of being one of the longest-running quartets on the gospel highway. 

For 83 years.

“The Gentlemen of Song” came together for the first time in 1928, just prior to the Great Depression, and the group’s influence on gospel and quartet singing, as well as on American popular music, is unmistakable. No less than the Smithsonian Institution plans to honor the Dixie Hummingbirds with a permanent exhibit in 2015.

After the recent passing of the ‘Birds’ iconic lead singer Ira Tucker and his wife, Louise, the Ira and Louise Tucker Preservation Foundation was established to assist veteran quartet singers. The CD Gospel Praise Songs – Powered by Quartets, released May 17, 2011, will help raise money for the foundation as well as build greater awareness of the historic importance of gospel quartets. The latter is especially important in a time when groups and soloists have all but squeezed quartets off of gospel radio playlists.

Gospel Praise Songs – Powered by Quartets does old style quartet singing a great service by containing ten straightforward readings not of ‘Birds hits, but those of Golden Era quartets with whom the ‘Birds shared the stage: the Harmonizing Four, Golden Gate Quartet, Sensational Nightingales, Pilgrim Travelers and the CBS Trumpeteers.

The latest iteration of the Dixie Hummingbirds – William Bright, Lyndon Baines Jones, Torrey Nettles, Carlton Lewis and Adebo Wali – perform these groups’ classic songs in as close to the original harmonies and arrangement as possible. Wali, who holds down the bass, boom-de-booms like it’s 1957. Quartet enthusiasts will recognize instantly arrangements such as the Golden Gate Quartet’s “Shadrack,” the Soul Stirrers’ “The Love of God” (complete with Johnnie Taylor yodels) and the Pilgrim Travelers’ “Straight Street.”

The musical accompaniment, including able contributions from students of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, has a contemporary flavor but supports the group well without overpowering the harmonies. Other “and friends” include West Philadelphia’s Crusaders for Christ Church Choir, which provides backing vocals on “The Last Mile of the Way,” and Philly soul legend Bunny Sigler on “Morning Train.”

Gospel Praise Songs – Powered by Quartets is nicely done and its dedication to keeping the traditional sound alive is admirable. It would have been an even bigger treat had veteran Dixie Hummingbirds guitarist Howard Carroll made a cameo appearance, and if there were twice as many songs on the CD, as the project leaves the listener wanting more.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “To the End,” “Morning Train.”