Walter Davis

Walter Davis

Walter Davis (March 1, 1911 or 1912 – October 22, 1963) was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter who was one of the most prolific blues recording artists from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. He was unrelated to the jazz pianist Walter Davis, Jr. 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".

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 200 records)

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Victor	BVE-62905	10-in.	6/12/1930	Mr. Davis' blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-62906	10-in.	6/12/1930	Blue sea blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-62907	10-in.	6/12/1930	M. & O. blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-62908	10-in.	6/12/1930	Broke and hungry	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
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	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67574	10-in.	9/29/1931	Mr. Davis' blues no. 2	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67575	10-in.	9/29/1931	Southeast Missouri blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67576	10-in.	9/29/1931	Strange land blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67577	10-in.	9/29/1931	Pleading to my baby blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67578	10-in.	9/29/1931	Engineer's blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67579	10-in.	9/29/1931	Howling wind blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-67580	10-in.	9/29/1931	Road man blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-69414	10-in.	6/10/1931	Sunny land blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-69415	10-in.	6/10/1931	You don't worry my mind	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-69416	10-in.	6/10/1931	That stuff you sell ain't no good	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-69417	10-in.	6/10/1931	What made me love you so?	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	lyricist, composer, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70673	10-in.	2/10/1932	Lonesome hill blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70674	10-in.	2/10/1932	Mama, why don't you be yourself?	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70675	10-in.	2/10/1932	Worried man blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70676	10-in.	2/10/1932	M & O blues, no. 3	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70677	10-in.	2/10/1932	Hijack blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
Victor	BVE-70678	10-in.	2/10/1932	Blue ghost blues	Walter Davis	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist
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	composer, vocalist
Victor	BS-76803	10-in.	8/2/1933	Moonlight blues	Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly	Male vocal solo, with piano	composer, lyricist, vocalist

(Results 1-25 of 200 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Davis, Walter," accessed November 4, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.

Davis, Walter. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 4, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.

"Davis, Walter." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423

External Sources

Wikipedia: Walter Davis

Discogs: Walter Davis

Allmusic: Walter Davis

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Davis, Walter, 1912-1963 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n96045843

Wikidata: Walter Davis - 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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