Jimmy lived with his aunt and uncle, Marnie and Luther Ricks until he was 13 and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to be with his mother.
In early 1946, they decided to form a vocal group and recruited Leonard "Zeke" Puzey, who had recently won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater, and Ollie Jones.
[3] They called themselves the Ravens thus initiating a trend for vocal groups to name themselves after birds—groups who later followed included the Orioles, the Crows, the Larks, the Robins and the Penguins.
Although the group was strongly influenced by the Ink Spots, the Delta Rhythm Boys, and the Mills Brothers, they used Jimmy Ricks' bass voice, rather than a more conventional tenor, as the lead on many of their recordings.
[3][4] Their run of successes on what came to be known as the R&B chart continued through to early 1950, with the basic line-up of Ricks, Suttles, Puzey, and Marshall essentially remaining together for several years.
In 1971, he and Suttles temporarily revived the Ravens, with additional members Gregory Carroll and Jimmy Breedlove.
[5] In 2006, Suttles accepted the Harlem Jazz & Music Festival 2006 Rhythm & Blues award on the group's behalf.