Ira Tucker, the lead singer with the gospel group, the Dixie Hummingbirds, has passed away at his home in Philadelphia. He was 83.

The Hummingbirds were best known to a generation of music fans as the group that backed up Paul Simon on "Loves Me Like a Rock. But Tucker and the rest of the group has huge success with its emotive gospel, recorded at their peak in the '40s and 50s, with songs like "Thank You for One More Day," "Trouble in My Way" and "Bedside of a Neighbor."

Tucker's style influenced a generation of soul singers, from Jackie Wilson to the Temptations to Stevie Wonder.

Read the New York Times obit here.