Bluesman Davis
Clarence "Bluesman" Davis (born February 17, 1945 in Green County) is a blues musician.
Davis was one of 12 children raised by harmonica player and farmer Willie Davis in the Goosa Quarter community for laborers of the Goosa-Steele Lumber Co. near Eutaw. He began playing guitar when he was 7. He was tutored by Hoochie Richardson and practiced by mimicking Delta blues artists. He began performing with gospel groups and sitting in with blues bands playing at area clubs when he was 15, and briefly joined T. J. & the Diplomats. In his late teens he relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, but returned to Eutaw after a few years.
Davis retired from working in 1993 and spent more time playing music. He began using a bass pedal and keyboard setup so that he could perform as a "one man band". He often performs with harmonica player Jock Webb. In addition to his own releases, Davis has recorded with Shar Baby.
Davis is a regular at Willie King's Freedom Creek Festival in Aliceville, and the Howlin' Wolf festival in West Point, Mississippi. He has been involved with the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival since it was first put together in 1975 by Jane Sapp and the Miles College-Eutaw Program.
Davis won the 2014 and 2015 "Battle of the Blues Bands" competitions sponsored by the Gulf Coast Blues Society and represented the region at the 2016 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Davis appears in the 2020 Alabama Public Television documentary "Alabama Black Belt Blues".
Discography
- Clarence "Bluesman" Davis. 'Gosa Quarter Blues
- Clarence "Bluesman" Davis & Jock Webb (2009) Before You Accuse Me Take a Look at Yourself
References
- Steele, Mynecia Destinee (June 22, 2016) "Davis claims 41 years of Black Belt Blues" Green County Democrat
- Crone, Madeline (June 27, 2022) "The Secret to Clarence "Bluesman" Davis' Sound", Music Maker Foundation
External links
- Clarence "Bluesman" Davis at reverbnation.com