Reverend Gary Davis
(04/30/1896 - 05/05/72)Back in 1970 I was a big fan of a group called Hot Tuna (www.hottuna.com). This was an acoustic spin-off of the rock and roll band Jefferson Airplane. Hot Tuna are Jorma Kaukonen on guitar and Jack Cassidy electric bass. How I came to that band I can't actually remember but I DO remember being intensely interested and attracted to the great acoustic guitar playing and singing of Jorma. What little I knew about acoustic music up until this period in my life mostly came from the radio and the few "folksy" LPs that my folks had. In my rock and roll world Hot Tuna was uniquely and refreshingly different. "Death Has No Mercy", "Hesitation Blues", "Candyman", "How Long Blues", ect. were rich, deep and satisfying. Those songs spoke to my young soul. The guitar playing was intricate and flowing. Played with power and drive it instantly opened a whole new realm of music for me. PLUS I actually kind of figured out how to play the basic chords of "Death Has No Mercy" and the more challenging "Hesitation Blues". The Reverend Gary Davis wrote those songs but at that time I had no idea who this man was!
Fast-forward a couple years to when I was living up in Maine. I heard from a friend about a guitarist and songwriter named George Gritzbach who was living "out on the Cape" (meaning Cape Cod, Massachusetts). I was told he wrote and played his own songs and that he had actually studied with the Reverend. Well, that was enough for me. If my memory serves me right (hey, it's been 30+ years+), I called him up and asked if I might come down and visit, as I was interested in meeting him because I too was a songwriter and also a fan of the Reverends. I guess I was about 21 years old then. Anyway, to make a long story short, George (and his girlfriend Carrie) graciously said yes to my visit and THAT adventure was definitely a turning point in my life. George turned out to be a hell of a good songwriter and guitar player. A real inspiration for a young musician. They had a great LP collection of blues and ragtime guitar players, which I listened incessantly to until they shoed me away. Among those LP's were a few recordings of Reverend Gary Davis and that was where I first heard him. My knowledge of Blues music up until that time had been mostly electric variations played by white boys (although I had listened to quite a bit of Robert Johnson). Great guitar players playing on acoustic guitars were something I could identify with. It was through George's kindness and generosity that I first heard the records of the real originators. Among the best of those players and singers was the Reverend Gary Davis.
Picture courtesy of
http://www.revgarydavis.comThe Man:
You can read his complete biography here: www.revgarydavis.com/bio.html (and please take a look through the site. There's lot's of information and very cool links! A big thanks for whomever is keeping this site going!). The short of it: Born April 30 th, 1896 - Died May 5, 1972. He was born with vision but lost his sight dues to some chemicals a "Doctor" gave him at 3 weeks old. Moved to New York City 1935 where he lived in or around most of his life. Sang on the streets of Harlem and preached at the Missionary Baptist Connection Church. As the name suggests, the Reverend was just that. An ordained minister of the Baptist church. He influenced and taught many other musicians. Among them Taj Mahal, Jerry Garcia, Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan et al.
There is a whole "school" of Blues music I guess you might call it of which Davis is a part. Ragtime guitar players - finger pickers playing on acoustic instruments. Pink Anderson, Blind Arthur Blake(!!), Blind Boy Fuller are other players that I liked very much.
Why Gary Davis? I'd never heard anyone that could make one guitar make so many sounds all at the same time. Taj Mahal said, "Gary Davis took you out of playing baby guitar and made you play it like a grown man". That pretty much describes my reaction to hearing his music. Davis had the bass going, the rhythm working and all up on top of it was the nice melody line all by it's lonesome. A hard driving sound but still very full and intricate. Multi-layered and very complex. A passionate singer, Mr. Davis mostly sang gospel and church numbers BUT very much in his own style. He made that guitar really sound like a honky-tonk piano when he wanted to.
When I first heard his records I knew that's how I wanted to play guitar and that's exactly what I set out to do. George introduced me to thumb and finger picks and showed me how to play Elizabeth Cotton's "Freight Train" and also Davis's "Candy Man". Of course it took me many, many years to even come close to realizing what Gary Davis was a master of. Hell, it took me one whole year to get "Freight Train"! At various times I've played Davis's "Candyman", "Hesitation Blues", "Death Has No Mercy", "Buck Dance", "Let's Get Together Right Down Here" and "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning". But the levels to which I still aspire: originality, passion, technique, open tunings and "wholeness" were all set very much in motion by the music of this remarkable man and musician. I hope you can check him out!
Recommended listenings for Reverend Gary Davis:
"Pure Religion and Bad Company"
Blind Gary Davis, "Harlem Street Singer"
Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson / "Gospel, Blues and Street Songs"
If you'd like to find a clue about how to play like the man, please check out:
The Stefan Grossman books are all excellent.
