Died On This Date (June 24, 2008) Ira B. Tucker / Sang Lead For The Dixie Hummingbirds
themusicsover Ira B. Tucker
May 17, 1925 – June 24, 2008
Ira B. Tucker Sr. was the lead singer for the celebrated gospel vocal group, the Dixie Hummingbirds. Joining the group at the age of 13, Tucker fronted them for the next 70 years. They have been called a direct inspiration for the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Jackie Wilson and Aretha Franklin. Tucker died of heart failure at the age of 83.
Rocky Benton was a favorite in and around the Corpus Christi blues scene for many years thanks in part to his outstanding harmonica playing. Blind since childhood, Benton gravitated toward music early, first learning to play the harmonica at age six and later, keyboards and drums. By ten, he was singing and drumming in a jazz band while attending the Texas School For The Blind in Austin. By the early ’90s, Benton was living in Corpus Christi where he became a fixture in the city’s music scene, sharing the bill with the likes of 
Calvin Owens was a respected jazz and blues trumpeter and band leader from Houston, Texas. He started learning to play the trumpet at the age of 13, and after graduating from high school, he turned professional by touring with a vaudeville act. In 1953, Owens began working with B.B. King, eventually becoming his bandleader. He played with him until 1957, when he landed a job at Peacock Records as a session player. Owens went on to play with the likes of 