Don Davis (record producer) explained

Don Davis
Birth Name:Donald Davis
Birth Place:Detroit, Michigan, US
Birth Date:25 October 1938
Death Place:West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, US
Occupation:Record producer, songwriter, guitarist, banking executive
Years Active:Mid-1950s - 1980s

Donald Davis (October 25, 1938 – June 5, 2014) was an American record producer, songwriter and guitarist who combined a career in music with one in banking.[1]

Biography

Born in Detroit, he started playing music in the mid-1950s and after leaving Central High School formed his own jazz group, the Don Davis Trio, before becoming a session musician.[2] He played guitar for many Detroit record labels, including Golden World and Ric-Tic, as well as on early Motown records such as the hits, "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong and Mary Wells' "Bye Bye Baby".[3]

He moved on to writing and producing records in Detroit and then joined Stax Records in Memphis, aiming to achieve a fusion of the Stax and Motown sounds.[2] He achieved his first major success as a songwriter and producer in 1968 with Johnnie Taylor’s hit "Who's Making Love", which reached no.1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and no.5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] [5] Davis also played guitar on the track, together with Steve Cropper.[2] He worked with Taylor on many of his hits in the 1970s, including the 1971 R&B no.1 hit "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone", which Davis co-wrote.[2] Later, in 1976, he also co-wrote and produced Taylor's "Disco Lady", which spent four weeks at no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the US. It was the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA.[6]

Davis set up his own record production and music publishing companies, called Groovesville,[7] [8] which are still operating. In 1971, he bought one of Detroit's premier recording studios, United Sound,[9] [10] used by a host of musicians including George Clinton, Aretha Franklin, The Dramatics, The Dells, Carla Thomas, Michael Henderson, David Ruffin and Johnnie Taylor.[3] [11] He also used the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama to record the basic rhythm tracks on some of his productions.[12]

In 1975, Davis started and headed the RCA-distributed Detroit-based record label, Tortoise International[13] which included artists, First Fire, The Rockets, the 1978 comeback album by The Skyliners, as well as the 1978 Dan Schafer version of the 1960s re-make "Baby Now That I've Found You" which was re-released in 2012 on the CD Perhaps..the Very Best of Dan Schafer.[14] In 1977, Davis produced the Billy Davis, Jr. and Marilyn McCoo hit, "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)".[15] Davis also established himself as a banker, founding the First Independence Bank, the only African American-owned and operated commercial bank in Michigan in 1970.[3] He concentrated on his banking concern in later years, but continued to operate his music interests as well.

He lived in West Bloomfield Township, north of Detroit, and died after a short illness in June 2014, aged 75. He is survived by a wife and three children.[3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Edmonds. Ben. Detroit banker Don Davis worked with Motown but made a name for himself with rival Stax. Detroit Free Press. January 3, 2012.
  2. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-davis-mn0000145319 Biography by Ed Hogan, Allmusic.com
  3. Web site: Detroit music legend and banking entrepreneur Don Davis dies at age 75 . The Detroit News . June 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140707205902/http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140606/OBITUARIES/306060060/Detroit-music-legend-banking-entrepreneur-Don-Davis-dies-age-75 . July 7, 2014 . dead.
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

    . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 568.

  5. Web site: Finch. Graham. Steve Mancha. /soulfuldetroit.com. December 8, 2011.
  6. Web site: History Of The Awards . RIAA.com . 2008-12-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070701162808/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=historyx . 2007-07-01 .
  7. http://soulfuldetroit.com/web01-soulfuldetroit/groovesville.htm SoulfulDetroit - Groovesville Productions - Great Soul Music Recording Studios of Detroit
  8. http://www.discogs.com/label/308577-Groovesville-Music Discogs - Groovesville Music - profile and discography
  9. http://soulfuldetroit.com/web01-soulfuldetroit/united-sound.htm SoulfulDetroit - United Sound Systems - Great Soul Music Recording Studios of Detroit
  10. http://www.discogs.com/label/286338-United-Sound-Studios Discogs - United Sound Studios - profile and discography
  11. http://soulfuldetroit.com/web01-soulfuldetroit/united-sound.htm Great Soul Music Recording Studios of Detroit Tour
  12. Web site: Olson. Peter B.. Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Encyclopedia of Alabama. December 8, 2011.
  13. Web site: Tortoise International at Discogs . Discogs.com . 2011-12-29.
  14. Web site: 'perhaps..the Very Best of Dan Schafer'. www.cdbaby.com. 2012-03-05.
  15. Web site: You don't have to be a Star . SuperSeventies.com . 2011-12-29.