
Walter Davis
Walter Davis (March 1, 1911 or 1912 – October 22, 1963) was an African-American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter who was one of the most prolific blues recording artists from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. Davis had a rich singing voice that was as expressive as the best of the Delta blues vocalists. His best-known recording, a version of the train blues standard "Sunnyland Blues", released in 1931, is more notable for the warmth and poignancy of his singing than for his piano playing. His best-known songs included "Come Back Baby", "Ashes in My Whiskey" and "Blue Blues". Davis was sometimes billed as "Hooker Joe". He was unrelated to the jazz pianist Walter Davis, Jr. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 1, 1912 (Grenada), Died October 22, 1963 (St. Louis)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, composer, piano, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 198 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-62905 | 10-in. | 6/12/1930 | Mr. Davis' blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-62906 | 10-in. | 6/12/1930 | Blue sea blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-62907 | 10-in. | 6/12/1930 | M. & O. blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-62908 | 10-in. | 6/12/1930 | Broke and hungry | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67573 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | M. & O. blues no. 2 (My baby's come back) | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67574 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Mr. Davis' blues no. 2 | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67575 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Southeast Missouri blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67576 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Strange land blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67577 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Pleading to my baby blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67578 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Engineer's blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67579 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Howling wind blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-67580 | 10-in. | 9/29/1931 | Road man blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-69414 | 10-in. | 6/10/1931 | Sunny land blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-69415 | 10-in. | 6/10/1931 | You don't worry my mind | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-69416 | 10-in. | 6/10/1931 | That stuff you sell ain't no good | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-69417 | 10-in. | 6/10/1931 | What made me love you so? | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
Victor | BVE-70673 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | Lonesome hill blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BVE-70674 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | Mama, why don't you be yourself? | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BVE-70675 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | Worried man blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BVE-70676 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | M & O blues, no. 3 | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BVE-70677 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | Hijack blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BVE-70678 | 10-in. | 2/10/1932 | Blue ghost blues | Walter Davis | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer | |
Victor | BS-76801 | 10-in. | 8/2/1933 | Red Cross blues | Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer, lyricist, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-76802 | 10-in. | 8/2/1933 | L & N blues | Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, composer | |
Victor | BS-76803 | 10-in. | 8/2/1933 | Moonlight blues | Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly | Male vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, lyricist, composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Davis, Walter," accessed July 2, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.
Davis, Walter. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 2, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.
"Davis, Walter." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 2 July 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Davis, Walter, 1912-1963 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n96045843
Wikidata: Walter Davis (blues) - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1481905
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/19871670
MusicBrainz: Walter Davis - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2cc09627-ac51-46e1-bc1f-92e49ace09d5
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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