George S. Davis

For other people named George Davis, see George Davis (disambiguation).

George S. Davis

George S. Davis (1904 — 1992), The Singing Miner, composed and worked as a disc jockey on the radio stations in Hazard, Kentucky from 1947 until 1969.

Career

Davis began his career about 1933, about the same time the United Mine Workers of America began organized the Coal Mines in Eastern Kentucky.

Among the songs he wrote and sang were "White Shotgun," "Buggerman in the Bushes," "Coal Miner's Boogie," "When Kentucky Had No Union Men," and "Harlan County Blues." Although "Sixteen Tons", the song about the misery of coal mining, has generally been credited as being written in 1946 by U.S. country singer Merle Travis, who was the first to record it, Davis claimed that the Travis version was actually based on an earlier song of his called "Nine-to-ten tons" written in the 1930s. Davis' 1966 recording of his version of the song can be heard on the album George Davis: When Kentucky Had No Union Men (Folkways FA 2343, 1967).

Death and legacy

Davis was 88 years old when he died in 1992 in London, Kentucky. His D28 Martin Guitar that he played from 1947 until 1992 will be displayed in the new studios of WKIC and WSGS on Main Street in Hazard.

External Links

• Remembering George Davis The Singing Miner wsgs.com

{{subst:#if:Davis|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1904}}

|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1992}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1904 births

}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1992}}

|| LIVING  = 
| MISSING  = 
| UNKNOWN  = 
| #default = 

}}