James Hill

James Hill

Baritone singer James Hill was the owner of one of the most perfect voices in the recording industry. He was famous for his participation in two historic vocal groups, the black gospel Fairfield Four and the more pop-orientated Skylarks, but this Hill was part of the scenery at a variety of recording sessions by top artists, making contributions to several generations of pop music landscape. The Fairfield Four developed a unique a cappella style during the '40s and became one of the top groups in this genre, both in its original incarnation with original member Hill as well as a revival of the group which began in 1980, with Hill's responsibilities then including management as well as singing.

The Skylarks first flew in 1950, after the first break-up of the Fairfield Four. Hill joined forces with fabulous Fairfield Four fellow Isaac Freeman to form a group that was in demand as a vocal sweetener on recordings by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Russ Morgan. Both alone and as a member of the revived Fairfield Four, Hill continued to sing on a surprising range of commercial releases during his career. He could certainly be considered a part of the Nashville studio scene, having lived most of his life in that area and showing up on country and western releases from Johnny Cash to Marty Stuart, as well as a few others that don't dress in black. Hill provides a rich vocal bottom for John Fogerty on that artist's solo recordings and also backed up performers such as Elvis Costello and Steve Earle on both concerts and recordings.

I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, a 1997 release by the Fairfield Four, won a Grammy as best traditional soul gospel recording. It had been a long road since March of 1942 when the the Library of Congress first recorded the group at a Baptish church in Nashville. Unissued at the time, this historic recording of "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around" was finally released as part of a Document collection of field recordings. In 1998, the revived quartet also did well with the song "Wreckin' the House," released by the Dead Reckoning label. The year before Hill's death, the Fairfield Four traveled to New York with Stuart and filmed a television tribute for Cash, the country star and not the mode of payment.

Hill was also known for a variety of other contributions to the Nashville community, besides playing a bit part as a policeman in the Robert Altman movie masterpiece named after the country music capital. Hill and his wife managed the Third Avenue restaurant unappealingly calledTombstone, at one point while his combo also owned its own funeral parlour, the Fairfield Four Funeral Home. This appears to be the only case in music history of a group owning its own mortuary, though it is something for the black metal crowd to think about. Hill also worked as both a sheriff's deputy and Nashville police sergeant, and served as a deacon at Temple Baptist Church. Eugene Chadbourne