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Blind Willie Davis ( c. 1890s–1930s) was an American blind gospel blues singer who recorded in the 1920s. [1]
Davis recorded six sides for Paramount Records in 1928 and 1929. [1] He sang solo and played slide guitar in a blues influenced style similar to that of Blind Willie Johnson. His material was strictly religious in nature and relied on reworkings of traditional hymns such as " Rock of Ages". [1] He is noted for his versions of " When the Saints Go Marching In" [1] and " I've Got a Key to the Kingdom", a song previously recorded by Washington Phillips and Bessie Johnson. Davis' version is radically reworked and stripped down to a powerful but simple slide guitar riff repeated at a fast tempo with the lyrics reduced to a basic chorus and apparently improvised lyrics.[ citation needed] He sang in an emotional and somewhat slurred voice.[ citation needed] Davis' other songs are of a similar nature although at a somewhat slower tempo and less intense pace.[ citation needed]
Davis is a mysterious figure about whom little is known. Research done by Gayle Dean Wardlow in 1966 named his home as Bude, Mississippi, a small town in the southwest of the state. [1] He reportedly was reluctant to record fearing he would be required to play secular material.[ citation needed] He did not record again and his subsequent whereabouts and death are unknown. No photos of him are known to exist.
Davis' complete recorded works are available on Document Records.
References
- "Gospel Classics" liner notes by Ken Romanowski 1993, Document Records
External links
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