Gary Davis

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Reverend Gary Davis (* the 30th April 1896 in Laurens , South Carolina , † 5. May 1972 in Hammonton , New Jersey ) was an influential and technically outstanding Blues - guitarist and singer. In contrast to most finger pickerstoday, he only plucked with his thumb and forefinger, which was typical of the Piedmont Blues .

biography

Gary Davis was completely blind during his childhood . He learned to play guitar , banjo and harmonica by himself . First he performed at parties in his hometown, then he moved to Durham , North Carolina and lived there as a street musician. Around 1927 he became a Baptist preacher , hence the title Reverend ( pastor / pastor ).

In the early 30s he met Blind Boy Fuller . With him he made his first recordings for AMC in New York in July 1935.

In 1942, Gary Davis moved to New York with his second wife . From the mid-1950s he recorded for various labels and left behind his rich repertoire, consisting of blues, ragtime and gospel music .

He was "rediscovered" through the Folk Revival and musicians such as Stefan Grossman , Ry Cooder , Jerry Garcia , Jorma Kaukonen and David Bromberg learned from him. Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary recorded cover versions of his pieces . The piece Kokain by Hannes Wader is a German adaptation of the Cocaine Blues by Davis.

Gary Davis suffered a heart attack on the way to a gig. He then died in the William Kessler Memorial Hospital. His grave is in Rockville Cemetery, Lynbrook, NY . He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009 . In 2013 a documentary was made about his life and music.

Discographic notes

  • Reverend Gary Davis 1935-1949 - Yazoo L 1023
  • The Singing Reverend - Gary Davis & Sonny Terry - Stinson SLPX12 - 1954
  • Gospel, Blues and Street Songs - Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson - Riverside RLP 148 - 1956
  • Pure religion and bad company - Folk Lyric FL125 - 1957
  • Pure Religion - Prestige / Folklore 14028 - 1960
  • A Little More Faith - Prestige / Bluesville - 1961
  • Say No to the Devil - Bluesville 1049-1961
  • Ragtime Guitar - Gary Davis & Stefan Grossman - Transatlantic TRA 244 - 1962 to 1970
  • Children of Zion - Reverend Gary Davis in Concert - Transatlantic TRA 249 - 1962
  • Let Us Get Together - produced by Stefan Grossman - Kicking Mule Records 1963–1968
  • Lo 'I be with You Always - Kicking Mule Records 1959-1968
  • Gary Davis & Short Stuff Macon - xtra 1964
  • Rev. Gary Davis at Newport - Vanguard - 1966
  • Blues and Gospel - Biographer - 1971
  • Lord I Wish I Could See - with Larry Breezer g - Biographer - 1971

literature

  • Robert Tilling (1992). Oh, what a beautiful city! A Tribute to Rev. Gary Davis . Paul Mill Press. ISBN 978-0-7866-8258-4 .
  • by Schmidt, Eric (2008). Remembering Reverend Gary Davis. Sing out! 51 (4) 67-73.
  • Ian Zack (2015). Say No to the Devil: The Life and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis . University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-23410-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Harlem Street Singer (film)