Larry Davis (blues musician)

Larry Davis (December 4, 1936 – April 19, 1994)[1] was an American electric Texas blues and soul blues musician. He is best known for co-writing the song "Texas Flood", later recorded to greater commercial success by Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Larry Davis
Davis in 1983
Background information
Born(1936-12-04)December 4, 1936
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States
DiedApril 19, 1994(1994-04-19) (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California, United States
GenresTexas blues, soul blues, electric blues
Occupation(s)Singer, guitarist, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years activeMid-1950s–1994
LabelsRooster Blues, various

Biography

Davis was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and was raised in England, Arkansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas. He swapped playing the drums to learn to play the bass guitar. In the mid-1950s, he had a working partnership with Fenton Robinson, and following the recommendation of Bobby Bland was given a recording contract by Duke Records. Davis had three singles released, which included "Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston". Thereafter, he had limited opportunity in the recording studio. He resided in St. Louis, Missouri, for a while, and played bass in Albert King's group.[2] He also learned to play the guitar at this time; the guitar on Davis's recording of "Texas Flood" was by played by Robinson.[3]

Several single releases on the Virgo and Kent labels followed, but in 1972 a motorcycle accident temporarily paralyzed Davis's left side.[2] He returned a decade later with an album released by Rooster Blues, Funny Stuff, produced by Oliver Sain.[3] He won four W. C. Handy Awards in 1982, but a decade later he was known only to blues specialists.[3] His 1987 Pulsar LP, I Ain't Beggin' Nobody, was difficult even for blues enthusiasts to locate.[2]

In 1992, Bullseye Blues issued another album, Sooner or Later, highlighting his booming vocals and guitar playing influenced by Albert King.

Davis died of cancer in April 1994, at the age of 57.[2]

Selected discography
  • Funny Stuff (1982), Rooster Blues
  • I Ain't Beggin' Nobody (1987), Evidence
  • Sooner or Later (1992), Bullseye Blues
  • B. B. King Presents Larry Davis (2002)
  • Sweet Little Angel (2002), P-Vine Records[4]
gollark: PotatOS. PotatOS. PotatOS.
gollark: PotatOS? It doesn't have a readme.
gollark: Maybe something with graphs...
gollark: I'm looking into other problems and aim to make it take about a minute to solve.
gollark: Lignum, it's hard to do more while not making it too slow to auto generate.

See also

References
  1. Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1994–1995". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  2. Dahl, Bill. "Larry Davis: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  3. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 106. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  4. "Larry Davis: Discography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.