| Gary Davis |
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Reverend Gary Davis also '''Blind Gary Davis''' ( April 30 , 1896 – May 5 , 1972 ) was an African American Blues and Gospel singer as well as a renowned guitarist. His unique finger-picking style was influential on many subsequent artists and his students in New York City included Stefan Grossman , Roy Book Binder , Woody Mann , Nick Katzman , Tom Winslow , and Ernie Hawkins . His musical influence extends from the Grateful Dead , Bob Dylan , Wizz Jones and Jorma Kaukonen to Keb Mo , Olabelle and Resurrection Band . BIOGRAPHY Born in Laurens, South Carolina , Davis became blind at a very young age. He took to the guitar and assumed a unique multi-voice style produced solely with his thumb and index finger, playing not only Ragtime and blues tunes, but also traditional and original tunes in four-part harmony. In the mid-1920s, he migrated to Durham, North Carolina , a major center for Black Culture at the time., North Carolina ]] While there, Davis collaborated with a number of other artists in the Piedmont Blues scene including Blind Boy Fuller and Bull City Red . In 1935, a store manager with a reputation for supporting local artists, J. B. Long , introduced Davis (as well as Fuller and Red) to the American Record Company . The subsequent recording sessions marked the real beginning of Davis' career. It was also during his time in Durham that Davis converted to Christianity; he would later become Ordained as a Baptist Minister . Following his conversion and especially his ordination, Davis began to express a preference for inspirational gospel music. In the 1940s, the blues scene in Durham began to decline and Davis migrated to New York City . By the 1960s, he had become known as the " Harlem Street Singer" and also acquired a reputation as ''the'' person to see if you wanted to learn to play guitar. As a teacher, Davis was exceptionally patient and thorough, making sure students would learn and adapt his original left-hand fingerings (such as a root position chord which he informed was an "F sharp diminished 7th", illustrating his knowledge of theory.) The Folk Revival of the 1960s re-invigorated Davis' career, culminating in a performance at the Newport Folk Festival and the recording by Peter, Paul And Mary of "Samson & Delilah." Also known as "If I Had My Way," it was originally a Blind Willie Johnson recording that Davis had popularized. DISCOGRAPHY Many of the records were published posthumously.
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