Gospel showman Ira Tucker Sr., 83.(Capital Region)

Byline: ADAM BERNSTEIN - Washington Post

Ira Tucker Sr., 83, the lead singer and irrepressible showman of the Dixie Hummingbirds, an electrifying gospel group credited with inspiring such entertainers as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and the Temptations, died Tuesday at an extended-care center in Philadelphia. He had congestive heart failure.

Tucker joined the Hummingbirds in 1938, a decade after the group's founding, and helped cement its reputation for dazzling harmonies and elaborate dance moves borrowed from spirited church services. He led the group since the 1984 retirement of its founder, James B. Davis, and never quit.

For the Hummingbirds, a …