LITTLE SAMMY DAVIS ( II )
Recordamos esta grabación extraordinaria de LITTLE SAMMY DAVIS
Little Sammy Davis - I Ain't Lyin'
Blues singerand harp player Little Sammy Davis (1928-2018) enigmatic career was interrupted for two decades only to come back and become a close musical associate of Levon Helm. Davis had a long history of working with some of the greats. Born in Winona, MS, he learned the harmonica at the age of eight and, in the 40’s and 50’s, played with such artists as Pinetop Perkins, Ike Turner and Earl Hooker. By the late-50’s, he had settled in Chicago, playing with some of the cities preeminent bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter.
Settling in Poughkeepsie, NY in the early-70’s, Davis recorded his first single, “Someday Blues”, for a local folklorist but, when his wife died in 1973, he disappeared from the music scene and life in general.
It wasn’t until 1990 that a chance conversation in a Poughkeepsie barbershop between DJ Doug Price and a local resident turned up Davis who was playing at a local club. Price began playing the few recordings of Davis which came to the attention of Fred Scribner who appeared on Don Imus’ show on New York’s WFAN radio. Scribner arranged a new recording session for Davis and an interview with Imus which led to his making numerous appearances on Imus in the Morning over the next few years. Davis and Scribner formed a duo that toured the U.S.
In 1995, Davis recorded his first album, I Ain’t Lyin’ for the Delmark label which led to him being named the Comeback Artist of the Year by Living Blues magazine.
More recordings followed along with the duo working as the “house band” for Imus’ annual fundraisers.
In the early-2000’s, a former guitar student of Scribner's, John Rocklin, brought Davis to Woodstock, New York, to see Levon Helm, the former drummer and vocalist of The Band. Helm made friends with Davis. Davis began joining him for performances at Helm's home in Woodstock and on tour with Levon Helm and the Barn Burners.
In 2002, Arlen Tarlofsky produced and directed the documentary film Little Sammy Davis, about Davis's life and music. The film was the jury selection at the London Film Festival and the Woodstock International Film Festival, and it won the Audience Recognition Award at the AFI/Silverdocs Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival.
In 2006 Davis persuaded Helm that Fred Scribner would be the right choice on guitar. Scribner was hired, and the name of the group was changed to the Levon Helm Band. Helm started holding concerts at his home; recordings of some of these performances were released on the album Midnight Ramble Sessions, Volume One. The Levon Helm Band starring Little Sammy Davis with Fred Scribner on guitar performed on the Imus Show, promoting the release of the album.
In 2008, Davis suffered a stroke. He was able to resume performing the following spring. He was no longer able to travel on the road but performed every Saturday at Levon Helm's "Midnight Ramble". A second stroke less than a year later left him partially paralyzed. Davis resided in a nursing home rehab unit in Middletown, New York. He died in Middletown on February 16, 2018, at the age of 89.
Little Sammy Davis – I Ain’t Lyin’
Delmark DE 682 (1995)
Little Sammy Davis - Vocals, Harmonica
Fred Scribner - guitar
Tom Hunter - piano (1, 12, 13)
Brad Lee Sexton - bass
Brad Scribner - drums
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