Walter Davis (blues)
| Walter Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1911 Grenada, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, pianist |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | Late 1920s–1963 |
Walter Davis (March 1, 1911 – October 22, 1963) [1][2] was an African American blues singer and pianist. Born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, he died in St. Louis, Missouri.
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", which he released in 1931, is more notable for the warmth and poignancy of his singing than for his piano playing.[3] Two more of his best known songs were "Ashes In My Whiskey" and "Blue Blues".[2]
He was also billed as 'Hooker Joe'.[2]
Career
Davis was born on a farm in Grenada, Mississippi, United States,[2][4] and ran away from home at about 13 years of age, landing in St. Louis, Missouri. During the period from the late 1920s through the early 1950s he played club dates in the South and the lower Midwest, often with guitarist Henry Townsend and fellow pianist Peetie Wheatstraw, and recorded prolifically. He was accompanied by Roosevelt Sykes on his first recordings (1930–33).[5]
He recorded around 180 singles between 1930 and 1952. In 1940, he had a hit with his recording of "Come Back Baby".[6] Some of his material has been covered by other performers.[5]
Davis appears to have stopped performing professionally around 1953. Suffering from health problems, primarily a stroke, he settled in St. Louis, Missouri, supporting himself as a night clerk at a hotel and as a preacher.[7] He died in St. Louis in 1963, aged 52.[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 in Hillsdale, Missouri.[8] The stone was unveiled at the 2012 Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis, Missouri.
Davis is no relation to the jazz pianist, Walter Davis, Jr.
See also
References
- ↑ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 221. ISBN 978-0313344237
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- ↑ Barlow, William (1989). "Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture, pp. 257-58. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-583-4.
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Sources
- Harris, Sheldon (1994). Blues Who's Who (Revised Ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80155-8
External links
- Walter Davis at Find a Grave
- More on the burial site of Walter Davis at Historic Greenwood Cemetery
- Works by or about Walter Davis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Articles with hCards
- 1911 births
- 1963 deaths
- People from Grenada County, Mississippi
- African-American musicians
- American blues pianists
- American blues singers
- Delta blues musicians
- RCA Victor artists
- Bluebird Records artists
- St. Louis blues musicians
- Blues Hall of Fame inductees
- Blue Note Records artists
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century pianists
