J. D. Sumner - Career

Career

Sumner sang in Southern gospel groups including The Sunny South Quartet (1945-1949), the Sunshine Boys (1949 - 1954), the Blackwood Brothers Quartet (1954 - 1965), J. D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet (1965 - 1980; 1988 - 1998), and the Masters V (1981 - 1988).

For eighteen years, Sumner held the Guinness World Record for recording the lowest bass note. As of 2011, he has been surpassed only three times by the following vocalists: Dan Britton (1984), Tim Storms (2002), and Roger Menees (2011).

In 1964, Sumner founded the Gospel Music Association with James Blackwood. He was also the founding force behind the National Quartet Convention.

Sumner was most noted as leader of the Stamps Quartet which became known as J.D. Sumner & The Stamps. Elvis Presley, while a teenager, idolized Sumner's singing after seeing him perform with the Sunshine Boys. Presley hired Sumner & The Stamps as his back-up singers in 1971. The group toured and recorded with Presley from November 1971 until Presley's death in 1977. He not only sang at Elvis' funeral but had previously sung at the funeral of Elvis' mother, Gladys, in 1958.

After the Stamps Quartet disbanded in 1980, Sumner with Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, Rosie Rozell, and James Blackwood formed the Masters V as a special consolidation of members of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet and Statesmen Quartet. The group was a showcase for Sumner's voice and compositions and won the 1981 Grammy Award for best traditional gospel performance. Sumner was credited not only for his singing, songwriting, and concert promotions, but was also noted for being the first to customize a coach bus for the entertainment business to use for music groups.

After the Masters V disbanded in 1988, Sumner reformed the Stamps Quartet and performed with the group until his death in 1998. He was often seen in his latter years appearing as a guest artist on the Bill Gaither Homecoming videos. The Stamps Quartet is currently led by Ed Enoch, a member since 1969.

Sumner was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1997.