Grady Tate was renowned as a session drummer extraordinaire, an expert in the use of the rim shot for syncopating purposes; prized for his driving, pushing, or subtle coaxing of the beat. Yet he also displayed a warm, flexible, rhythmically agile baritone voice, which, in a reversal of the usual commercial situation, was less well-known than his drumming. He began singing at age four, impressing local Durham, North Carolina church and school audiences, but quit temporarily when his voice broke at age 12. Self-taught as a drummer at first, he picked up the fundamentals of jazz drumming during his hitch in the Air Force (1951-1955), and arranger Bill Berry made some vocal charts for him there. Upon his discharge, he returned to Durham to study psychology, literature, and theater at North Carolina College, before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1959 to teach high school and take up a musical career with Wild Bill Davis.