Reverend Gary Davis
From Blues To Gospel
last recordings made by legendary blues guitarist, available from High Coin
From 1914 until his death in 1972, Reverend Gary Davis influenced a crop of future musical luminaries from blues to folk to rock 'n' roll. He began as one of the most renowned practitioners of the East Coast school of ragtime guitar and 35 years later he was still a giant in his field. As well as inspiring modern guitarist/singers such as Bob Dylan, Donovan and Taj Mahal his style was adopted by the likes of Ry Cooder, Jorma Kaukonen and David Bromberg, each of whom studied under him for a five-dollar fee.
Born partially blind at birth on April 30, 1896 in Laurens, South Carolina, Davis lost the rest of his sight before he was an adult. A self-taught guitarist, he began learning at age 6, fashioning his earliest instrument from a broom and pie pan. Davis grew up influenced by gospel, marches, ragtime, jazz and minstrel hokum songs and integrated them into a style that was entirely his own. By the time he reached his twenties he had one of the most advanced guitar techniques of anyone in blues. His only peers among ragtime-based players were Blind Arthur Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Blind Willie Johnson. Davis himself was a major influence on Blind Boy Fuller.
He first stepped into a recording studio in the 1930s where he recorded a mixture of blues and spirituals for the American Record Company label. After disagreements about pay Davis decided to leave the sessions. It would be 19 years before he would return to a studio again. In the interim Davis continued to busk in the streets mixing gospel songs in with his blues and ragtime songs to make it harder for the police to interrupt his set. In time he began taking the gospel numbers more seriously, so much so that in 1937 he became an ordained minister and stopped performing blues songs. The now Reverend Gary Davis moved to New York in the '40s and began preaching and playing on Harlem street corners. It was here, at the end of the '40s, that he went into the studio again, armed with just a pair of gospel songs. By the mid- '50s Davis' recordings had gained him a real following. Rediscovered and claimed by the folk revivalists Davis agreed, reluctantly at first, to perform at the Newport Folk Festival. These performances became highlights of the events for several years and he soon became one of the most popular players on the folk & blues revival scene.
This 13-track collection, 'From Blues To Gospel', includes the last recordings made by the Reverend Gary Davis, one year prior to his death in New York City, 17 March 1971. 'From Blues To Gospel' features 10 Davis originals including 'Talk on the Corner', 'Sally Where'd You Get Your Whiskey', 'Cocaine Blues' and 'You Better Get Right' to name but a few plus 2 traditional songs in 'Lost John' and 'Samson and Delilah', and this album's only cover, Skip James' 'Crow Jane'.
Tracklisting:
Talk On The Corner
Sally, Where'd You Get Your Whiskey
Crow Jane
Eagle Rocking Blues
Cocaine Blues
Lost John
Samson And Delilah
I Heard The Angels Singing
Children Of Zion
Lord I With I Could See
Down By The River
You Better Get Right
I'll Do My Last Singin'
catalogue number: SABRECD2008; barcode: 823566040026
available to buy from play.com, amazon.co.uk, hmv.co.uk and all good record stores.