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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 126-150 of 200 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-040517 10-in. 7/21/1939 Down and out Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040518 10-in. 7/21/1939 Doctor blues Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040519 10-in. 7/21/1939 Sundown blues Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040520 10-in. 7/21/1939 Cotton farm blues Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040521 10-in. 7/21/1939 Nothing but you Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040522 10-in. 7/21/1939 Jungle blues Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040523 10-in. 7/21/1939 Call your name Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040524 10-in. 7/21/1939 Western land Walter Davis Male vocal solo, with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Victor BS-040525 10-in. 7/21/1939 Bad luck blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040526 10-in. 7/21/1939 My little baby Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040527 10-in. 7/21/1939 Doggin' my love around Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040528 10-in. 7/21/1939 Little low woman blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040529 10-in. 7/21/1939 Good for nothing blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040530 10-in. 7/21/1939 Sugar mama blues no. 2 Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040532 10-in. 7/21/1939 T.B. blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040533 10-in. 7/21/1939 Something going on wrong Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040534 10-in. 7/21/1939 Good gal blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040535 10-in. 7/21/1939 Joe Louis and John Henry blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040536 10-in. 7/21/1939 Thinking my blues away Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040537 10-in. 7/21/1939 I'm not pleasing you Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040538 10-in. 7/21/1939 New "Jailhouse blues" Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040539 10-in. 7/21/1939 Lifetime blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040540 10-in. 7/21/1939 Miss Ida Lee Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040541 10-in. 7/21/1939 Tell me, baby Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-040542 10-in. 7/21/1939 Honey bee blues Sonny Boy Williamson Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, and piano instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 126-150 of 200 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Davis, Walter," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.

Davis, Walter. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/107423.

"Davis, Walter." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 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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