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Electric Blues
Cyril Davies
This artist is no longer with us.
Born: 23 January 1932 · Died: 7 January 1964• United Kingdom• Active: 1955–1964
BluesElectric BluesChicago Blues
The pioneering British blues harmonica player who co-founded Blues Incorporated with Alexis Korner and led his own R&B All-Stars, amplifying his harmonica with a home-made pickup and helping ignite the 1960s British blues boom before his death in 1964 at age 31.
Instruments
Harmonica, Vocals, Banjo, Guitar
Labels
Pye Records, Decca Records
from
Denham, Buckinghamshire, England
Born
23 January 1932
Musical Influence
As the musician Jimmy Page credited with pioneering the amplified-harmonica sound that inspired every British R&B band of the era, and as co-founder of both Blues Incorporated and the Ealing Club — the venue that drew in a young Mick Jagger and future members of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks — Davies stands alongside Alexis Korner as one of the two founding fathers of British blues, despite a recording career cut tragically short.
Formative experiences
- •1932: Born 23 January in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England (Source: Wikipedia).
- •1955: Begins performing acoustic skiffle and blues with Alexis Korner, running sessions at the Roundhouse pub (Source: Wikipedia).
- •1958: Co-founds the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club with Korner, hosting visiting American blues artists including Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (Source: Wikipedia).
- •1961-1962: Co-founds the electric group Blues Incorporated with Korner, playing the Marquee Club and recording "R&B from the Marquee," regarded as the first British electric blues album (Source: Wikipedia).
- •March 1962: Co-founds the Ealing Club with Korner, a venue that attracts a young Mick Jagger and Eric Burdon (Source: Wikipedia; Louder Sound).
- •October 1962: Leaves Blues Incorporated over disagreements about musical authenticity (Source: Wikipedia; Louder Sound).
- •November 1962: Forms the Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars with Long John Baldry on vocals (Source: Wikipedia).
- •1963: Records five tracks for Pye Records, including "Country Line Special" and "Chicago Calling"; appears on the TV series Hullabaloo (Source: Wikipedia).
- •1964: Dies in London on 7 January, aged 31; Long John Baldry takes over the band, which evolves into the Hoochie Coochie Men (Source: Wikipedia).
Instruments & Equipment
Stories & Anecdotes
"Davies pioneered an amplified harmonica by fitting a small pick-up covered in rubber cut from a bicycle tyre to a jack-plug cable — a rig Jimmy Page later credited with pioneering the sound that inspired every band of the era (Source: Louder Sound)."
"Mick Jagger, a regular at the Ealing Club Davies co-founded, recalled him as "very gruff, almost to the point of rudeness," while acknowledging he "learned an enormous amount" from him (Source: Louder Sound)."
"By day Davies ran a panel-beating and car-repair business; famously blunt about musical purism, he once declared, "I don't like to see the music messed about with. I like it straight" (Source: Louder Sound)."
Collaborators
1955-1962
Co-founded Blues Incorporated and the Ealing Club together; the two are jointly regarded as the founding fathers of British blues.
1962-1964
Vocalist in the Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars; took over fronting the band after Davies's death.
Watch & Listen
Featured
Cyril Davies All Stars with Long John Baldry and The Velvettes - Preachin' The Blues (Hullabaloo, ABC TV, 1963)
Television performance featuring Long John Baldry on vocals.
Deltics IORR
Watch & Listen
Henter videoer fra YouTube…
Press & quotes
"He wasn't an expansive person, he was very gruff, almost to the point of rudeness... but I learned an enormous amount from him."
"[Cyril Davies] pioneered a sound that was to give incentive to every group of the time."
Discography
| Year | Title | Producer | Studio | Label | Chart | Sales | Musicians | YouTube | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | R&B from the Marquee | — | — | Decca Records | — | — | — | Recorded with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated; widely regarded as the first British electric blues album (Source: Wikipedia). | |
| 1963 | Country Line Special / Chicago Calling | — | — | Pye Records | — | — | — | Debut single with the Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars (Source: Wikipedia). | |
| 1963 | Preachin' the Blues / Sweet Mary | — | — | Pye Records | — | — | — | Second single, produced by Jack Good; "Sweet Mary" is a Lead Belly cover (Source: Wikipedia). | |
| 2014 | Preachin' the Blues: The Cyril Davies Memorial Album | — | — | GVC Records | — | — | — | Posthumous compilation (Source: Wikipedia). |
Famous songs
01Country Line Special
02Chicago Calling
03Preachin' the Blues