1969

DONNIE SUMNER

Donnie Sumner is the talented nephew of singer J.D. Sumner. I think the first big influence in my life in every way possible was “the world’s lowest bass singer,” J.D. Sumner! Not only did he influence me but he gave me my first professional job as a musician.

First of all, growing up on Southern gospel music, J.D. was the biggest superstar of all in the genre. He sang bass with RCA recording artists the Blackwood Brothers Quartet. J.D. left the Blackwood Brothers to form his own group called J.D. Sumner & the Stamps Quartet. It was then that J.D. hired me, along with his nephew, Donnie Sumner.

After I had left the group to go work with the Oak Ridge Boys, J.D. & the Stamps would go on to tour with Elvis Presley. Donnie and J.D. always had a rivalry, and eventually J.D. fired Donnie from the Stamps. Elvis worshiped J.D. but he loved Donnie Sumner’s voice. So, Elvis had Donnie form the group The Voice to sing around his houses—in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs, Graceland in Memphis, or wherever Elvis might be in his off time. Donnie soon hired me to play piano for The Voice. That is how I was introduced to Elvis’s team. The Voice would open up shows for Elvis, and then during Elvis’s concert I would sit behind pianist Glen D. Hardin, from the TCB (Taking Care of Business) band, to watch him play the piano.

I fostered a relationship with Elvis’s TCB Band and eventually replaced Glen D. Hardin when he left to play with Emmylou Harris full time. Because of Donnie and J.D. Sumner, I was able to play with the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. Thank you, Donnie, my brother! That changed everything!

J.D. SUMNER THE BAD ASS BASS “The only thing better than receiving praise is deserving it.”

J.D. Sumner

“A man is rich who has a friend.”

Donnie Sumner