FILE – In this Oct. 17, 2017, file photo, Stevie Wonder attends the TIDAL X: Brooklyn 3rd Annual Benefit Concert in New York. Wonder has helped celebrate the 90th anniversary of a legendary Philadelphia gospel group. Philly.com reports the African American Museum in Philadelphia hosted a celebration for the Dixie Hummingbirds, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. Wonder couldn’t attend the celebration but he called in to praise the Dixie Hummingbirds for their contributions to modern music. Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File
PHILADELPHIA — Stevie Wonder has helped celebrate the 90th anniversary of a legendary Philadelphia gospel group.
Philly.com reports the African American Museum in Philadelphia hosted a celebration for the Dixie Hummingbirds Monday. The group was formed in Greenville, South Carolina, and eventually moved to Philadelphia in 1942.
Wonder couldn’t attend the celebration but he called in to praise the Dixie Hummingbirds for its contributions to modern music.
Current member Ira Tucker Jr. says he’s carrying on the legacy of his father, Ira Tucker Sr., who died in 2008. Tucker says his father and his groupmates were innovators in the ’40s and ’50s who helped usher in contemporary rhythm and blues music.
The Dixie Hummingbirds have three concerts scheduled this month. Members plan on rereleasing their 2011 album “Gospel Praise Songs — Powered By Quartets” this fall. MKH
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