Born January 14, 1932, in Durham, North Carolina. He began singing at age of 4 and taught himself drumming since age 5. He thrilled audiences at chruch and social function with his angelic renditions, but puberty hit at age of 12, causing his voice to drop. He was shocked by that voice change and stopped singing for a while. An Air Force stint from '51 to '55 changed things. He played as a drummer in a 21-piece show unit and the arranger, trumpeter Bill Berry started writing vocal scores for him. After discharged from the Air Force, he taught as English and speech teacher, but he moved to New York to become an actor. Tate's studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts were interrupted by a call from organist Wild Bill Davis, and he soon found himself as full-time drummer and worked with Jerome Richardson Combo and Quincy Jones Bigband. Since then, he has played with many musicians and vocalists, from Jazz to Pops. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Charles Aznavour, comprise but a partial list of the people who he has performed with.
It is needless to say about his career as a drummer, but he has an international reputation as a singer of first rank. He received two Grammy nominations as "Best Male Pop Vocalist" in '73 and '89. He has been described as "the best singer to emerge from the ranks of instrumentalists since Nat King Cole."