Acclaimed singer and church administrator, Jimmy Tucker. - Contributed DISTINGUISHED Jamaican singer and church administrator Jimmy Tucker will sing Caesar Franck's Panis Angelicus (O Lord Most Holy) in tribute to Archbishop Emeritus Samuel Carter, at the official service of thanksgiving scheduled for this afternoon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, North Street, Kingston.
As a pioneering boy wonder singer during the 1950s, Tucker became acquainted with the Archbishop in his many performances at Catholic charities. However, it was particularly the Archbishop's role as one of the three presidents of the Caribbean Conference of Churches that Tucker became appreciative of his stature as a Caribbean ecumenical stalwart.
According to Tucker; "When I served as the associate director of Christian Action for Development in the Caribbean (CADEC) for the north west Caribbean and as the regional co-ordinator for human rights on behalf of the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) during the 1970s, I became aware of his strong and yet caring ways."
Tucker will be accompanied on organ by Theophilous Edwards, an organist who is now at Sts. Peter and Paul.
Jimmy Tucker was considered one of Jamaica's best ever sopranos as a child, and one the island's best tenors as an adult.
Born in 1942, he was recognised as a gifted singer from his childhood days. It is said that Nat King Cole, while on a visit here, praised him as a promising singer when he was only 11 years-old. Still, Tucker remains humble, preferring not to talk about his childhood singing days.
He prefers to talk about the present and his love for the Jamaican musical landscape. To this end, he embarked last year on a series of concerts to spread his love for Jamaica and the world at large.
"The concerts were designed to motivate Christian leaders to renew the church's role in education, since it is through education that we will be able to build nationalism," he said.
He considers himself a nationalist, carrying on the great traditions of several of Jamaica's sons and daughters.
A firm believer in the teachings of Marcus Garvey, Tucker thinks we should believe in ourselves and work to move the nation forward.
The 59-year-old tenor has carved out his own brand of gospel music by mixing traditional hymns with a unique Caribbean flavour. The effort to produce this unique brand of gospel came with the assistance of veteran producer Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd, who describes him as part of his 'family gathering'.
He has also written several books, articles and papers.
