J.D. Sumner - "Talking Elvis" - TSOE 2019

J.D. Sumner (November 19, 1924 – November 16, 1998) was an American gospel singer, songwriter and music promoter noted for his bass voice, and his innovation in Gospel music. Sumner sang in five quartets and was a member of the Blackwood Brothers during their 1950s heyday. Aside from his incredibly low bass voice, Sumner's business acumen helped promote Southern Gospel and move it into the mainstream of American culture and music during the '50s and '60s.

As a teenager, Elvis Presley 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. Sumner not only sang at Elvis' funeral but had previously sung at the funeral of Elvis' mother Gladys in 1958.