JD Sumner

About

Remembered for his extremely deep bass voice, Sumner rose to fame as a member of the Grammy-winning Southern gospel groups The Blackwood Brothers and the Stamps Quartet and went on to become a backup vocalist for "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley.

Before Fame

Early in his career, he performed with Florida vocal groups called The Sunny South Quartet and the Dixie Lily Harmoneers, as well as with an Atlanta, Georgia-based group called the Sunshine Boys.

Trivia

For nearly two decades, Sumner, who could sing low notes not even on a standard piano keyboard, was the Guinness World Record holder for lowest pitch reached by a human voice.

Family Life

Born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, he died in his early seventies in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Associated With

In the early 1980s, Sumner and fellow former Blackwood Brothers member James Blackwood established a Grammy-winning gospel group called the Masters V.