TyTy Georgia, Jim Big Chief Wetherington, Statesmen Quartet Birthplace History sign, Tift County GA.
TyTy Georgia, Birthplace and childhood home of
Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington, bass singer of the world famous
Statesmen Quartet band.
JIM "BIG CHIEF" WETHERINGTON Ty Ty Ga.
He began his career in the late 1940s singing with the Sunny South Quartet and then with the Melody Masters. In 1949, he became the bass singer for the Statesmen Quartet and it would be with that legendary group that his name would be forever etched.
When Wetherington joined the Statesmen, both Hovie Lister and Lee Roy Abernathy suggested he needed a nickname. Paying homage to his Indian heritage, Wetherington became "Big Chief" and a part of Southern Gospel history lore.
A key member of the Statesmen for 24 years, he continued to entertain and delight audiences till his death at the National Quartet Convention in 1973. "Big Chief" Wetherington set the standard by which all other bass singers are still judged.
