Walter Davis (blues)

Walter Davis
Background information
Born (1911-03-01)March 1, 1911
Grenada, Mississippi, United States
Died October 22, 1963(1963-10-22) (aged 52)
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Genres Blues
Occupation(s) Singer, pianist, songwriter
Instruments Piano
Years active Late 1920s–1953
Labels Victor, Bluebird
Associated acts Henry Townsend

Walter Davis (March 1, 1911[1] or 1912[2] – October 22, 1963)[1] was an African American blues singer, pianist and songwriter who was one of the most prolific blues recording artists between the early 1930s and early 1950s.

Davis had a rich singing voice that was as expressive as the best of the Delta blues vocalists. His best-known recording, a version of the train blues standard "Sunnyland Blues",[3] which he released in 1931, is more notable for the warmth and poignancy of his singing than for his piano playing.[4] His best known songs included "Come Back Baby", "Ashes In My Whiskey" and "Blue Blues".[5] Davis was also sometimes billed as 'Hooker Joe'.[3]

Biography

Walter Davis was born on a farm in Grenada, Mississippi,[1][6] and ran away from home at about 13 years of age, landing in St. Louis, Missouri. He started singing with pianist Roosevelt Sykes and guitarist Henry Townsend. Davis made his first recordings, including the successful "M&O Blues", in 1930, as a singer accompanied by Sykes on piano.[7] A self-taught pianist, Davis increasingly accompanied himself as he became more proficient.[3] His piano playing was described by blues historian Gérard Herzhaft as "primitive but expressive, with an irregular rhythm."[8]

Influenced by Leroy Carr, and with a "mournful vocal tone",[3] "reflective style and superior lyrics",[1] Davis recorded prolifically for Victor and Bluebird, making over 150 recordings between 1930 and 1952. Many featured Townsend, or alternatively Peetie Wheatstraw, on guitar. Described as "one of the finest and most original of all blues singers and pianists",[1] Davis' varied repertoire included songs that were melancholy (such as "Tears Came Rollin' Down", written by Townsend),[1] humorous, or laced with double entendres (such as "Think You Need A Shot").[8] According to Townsend, Davis "played some of the saddest songs that was ever heard about".[9]

Townsend stated that claims that Davis played club dates in the South and the lower Midwest with Townsend and Peetie Wheatstraw are untrue. Townsend said that Davis "didn't do no entertaining, not to my knowledge, none whatsoever... Walter was very, very bashful when it came to public entertainment.... I've never known him to be booked on no job, not even no house party."[9] Townsend stated that, in the 1930s, Davis' name was used falsely on club bookings by other musicians.[9] In 1940, he had a hit with his recording of "Come Back Baby",[10] a song later recorded by Lowell Fulson, Ray Charles, and many others.[11] Once he was well established as a popular recording artist, Davis performed regularly in hotels in St. Louis,[9] sometimes with Townsend.[3]

In 1952, Davis suffered a stroke that effectively ended his recording career,[12] although his style of music was already becoming unfashionable.[8] He worked for the rest of his life as a hotel desk clerk, and as a part-time preacher. He died in St. Louis in 1963, aged about 52,[12] and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Hillsdale, Missouri.[2]

Legacy

Some of his material has been covered by other performers.[7] He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2005.

In October 2012, the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit organization, placed a headstone on Davis's unmarked grave at Greenwood Cemetery.[13] The stone was unveiled at the 2012 Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis.

Davis was unrelated to the jazz pianist, Walter Davis, Jr.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 221. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. 1 2 Walter Davis, FindaGrave.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Walter Davis, All About Blues Music. Retrieved 17 October 2016
  4. ↑ Barlow, William (1989). "Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture, pp. 257-58. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-583-4.
  5. ↑ Doc Rock. "The 1960s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  6. ↑ "Birthplaces of Mississippi Blues Artists". Webpages.charter.net. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  7. 1 2 Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 106. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  8. 1 2 3 Gérard Herzhaft, Encyclopedia of the Blues, University of Arkansas Press, 1992, p.51
  9. 1 2 3 4 Henry Townsend with Bill Greensmith, A Blues Life, University of Illinois Press, 1999, p.74-79
  10. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 13. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  11. ↑ "Come Back Baby", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016
  12. 1 2 Jason Ankeny. "Walter Davis - Biography - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Unmarked grave of bluesman Walter Davis to get headstone in Greenwood Cemetery". St. Louis Beacon. Retrieved 11 September 2015.

Sources

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