ETC4

"Comet White"

"Old Indian White"

"Phoenix White/Blue"

"Pinwheel and Stone"

"Planet White"

J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, Male Backing Vocals J.D. Sumner, Ed Enoch, Ed Hill, Rick Strickland

The lowest vocal bass note ever recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records came from J.D. Sumner. It's only one of a long list of great moments in the life of the late musical legend. For much of his care he headed up the Stamps Quartet, one of the greatest success stories in the gospel music industry. The group was nominated for Grammy, Dove and TNN awards, and they toured the world in concert. Sumner was credited with being a major force in the formation of the Gospel Music Association, the Dove Awards and the National Quartet Convention, and for being a significant influence in leading the gospel world to even greater levels of professionalism and organization. His direction and management of the Stamps was, and continues to be, a model for many other groups.

The Stamps worked with Elvis Presley from 1971 to 1977 as the male back-up group for his concerts in Las Vegas and on national tour, and they worked with him on numerous recordings. (The Imperials backed Elvis from 1969 to 1971, and the Jordanaires were Elvis' male back-up group in the 50s & 60s.) The most recent being Sumner (bass), Ed Enoch (lead), both of whom worked with Elvis from 1971 to 1977. and Ed Hill (baritone), who worked with Elvis in the latter two years of that period, and new member for the nineties, Rick Strickland (tenor). In the Elvis tour days, other members at various times included Bill Baize, Donnie Sumner, Larry Strickland, Dave Rowland, current record industry executive Tony Brown, and current Oak Ridge Boys member Richard Sterban.

Sumner's relationship with Elvis long pre-dated the Stamps' employment with him. Elvis, as a teenager with sideburns and loud clothes, frequently attended the monthly gospel sings at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. He became a regular fixture backstage, meeting and talking with the singers he admired so much. One of those singers was J.D. Sumner, then part of the Blackwood Brothers. Sumner and the others came to expect to see Elvis whenever they were in town. One night, the kid wasn't there, so when they played Memphis again, Sumner asked Elvis why he hadn't been there. Elvis confided that he simply had not had the money for a ticket. From then on, Sumner got Elvis in free through the stage door. Said Sumner, "The next thing I knew, Elvis was letting me in free through his stage door!"

With great success J.D. Sumner & the Stamps continued to make recordings and television appearances, and they constantly toured in concert, performing gospel music as only they could. They also continued to have very strong ties to the Elvis phenomenon through their friendship with Graceland/EPE and their loyal following of Elvis fans. The Stamps, including former members, are 1998 inductees into Gospel Music Association's Hall of fame.

J.D. Sumner & The Stamps participated in the March 1998 tour of Elvis-The Concert in America. The next booking for J.D. and his group with our show was the January/February 1999 European tour. Sadly, J.D. died in November 1998, but the surviving Stamps fulfilled the tour engagement. Ed Enoch, Ed Hill and Rick Strickland have since formed a new group known as Ed Enoch & The Golden Covenant and have added bass singer Tom Graham, who now joins them when they tour with ElvisThe Concert.

Tours alternate between former members of The Stamps and former members of The Imperials as backing male vocalists, based upon scheduling needs.

The Sweet Inspirations, Female Backing Vocals
Estelle Brown, Portia Griffin, Sylvia Snemwell, and Myrna Smith

The soulful harmonies of the Sweet Inspirations have enriched recordings by Aretha Franklin. Wilson Pickett and other legends. They have collaborated with writers and producers such as Carole King, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. They've had success with R&B, gospel and pop recordings of their own, most notably their first hit single Sweet Inspiration, which gave the group their name in the late sixties and earned them a Grammy nomination. It was that song that caught the attention o Elvis Presley, who signed them to provide backing vocals and be an opening act for his record-breaking 1969 Las Vegas engagement, his official return to the five concert stage after his triumphant '68 TV special and the end of his Hollywood movie contract obligations. No audition was required. The Sweet Inspirations met him when they arrived for the first rehearsals for the '69 engagement. The "Sweets" worked with Elvis in Vegas, on his national concert tours and on recordings from 1969 to 1977.

Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemweff, Estelle Brown and Cissy Houston (mother of superstar Whitney) made up the original group. Houston left the group to go solo after the first gig with Elvis. Smith, Shemwell and Brown stayed together through the Elvis years, but eventually went their separate ways professionally. In the nineties, the three reunited as a group and have been performing and recording together again, and they have re-established the Elvis connection with various projects with Graceland/EPE. In the mid-1990's, new member Portia Griffin joined the group.

Myrna Smith recalls that first meeting with Elvis, "He walked in and had on a chocolate coloured suit. He had a tan, and he looked absolutely gorgeous. He walked over to us and introduced himself - Re we didn't know who he was: 'Hi I'm Elvis Presley.' (Cissy literally fell off her stool.) From then on, whenever he'd see us, it was always a kiss." Smith remembers his talent, "He had so much energy. His voice was a lot more remarkable than it ever came off on record...He was just a much better singer than could ever be captured ... Some great singers' voices are just too big. Elvis' was like that."