Davis, James Bodie

▪ 2008

      American gospel singer

born June 6, 1916, Greenville, S.C.

died April 17, 2007 , Philadelphia, Pa.

was a founding member (as an 11-year-old boy) of the Dixie Hummingbirds (briefly known as the Sterling High School Quartet), an a cappella group that pioneered a style called “trickeration,” in which one vocalist would pick up a note where another left off. The group also performed as the Swanee Quintet and the Jericho Boys. Attired in white tails and tuxedos, the singers would run onto the stage and slide up to the microphone on their knees. Their style was later adopted by Little Richard and James Brown. The Hummingbirds signed in 1939 with Decca Records and in 1942 were booked into New York City's Café Society, one of the first integrated nightclubs. During their heyday in the 1940s and '50s, the group incorporated the concept of shouting lead parts in such songs as “Thank You for One More Day,” “Trouble in My Way,” and “Bedside of a Neighbor.” Their artistry influenced rhythm-and-blues stars Hank Ballard, Bobby (“Blue”) Bland, and the Temptations. The Hummingbirds later recorded with various independent labels, notably the Peacock label, and scored a hit in 1973 with their interpretation of Paul Simon's “Loves Me like a Rock,” for which they won a Grammy Award. Davis retired in 1984, but the Hummingbirds remained active.

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