Spencer Davis

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For a former Governor of Saint Helena, see Spencer Davis (governor).

Spencer Davis (born 17 July 1939 Swansea, Wales, UK) is an instrumentalist, who founded the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group.

[edit] Life and career

Davis was greatly influenced by his uncle Herman's mandolin playing, and first learned the harmonica at the age of six. He moved to London when he was sixteen and began working in the Civil Service as a clerical officer in the Post Office Savings Bank. Some of his early influences were Big Bill Broonzy, Huddy Ledbetter, Davey Graham, John Martyn, Alexis Korner and Long John Baldry. He formed a skiffle band called The Saints with Bill Perks, who later changed his name to Bill Wyman. It took Davis five years to get enough money together to buy a Semaitis 12 string guitar. It cost fifty pounds, which at that time was a large amount of money.

When he got a grant to go to college he immediately spent it on a guitar. They said, "Now you don't have enough money to buy your books." So he told them, "I'll use this guitar to earn more than enough to buy my books" – which was exactly the case. He had a harmonica in a wire frame bent around his neck, playing on the streets in London, Paris and Holland as a busker. Davis' first recording happened when he was eighteen and living in London. He recorded Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy" and then "Midnight Special". Davis moved to Birmingham in 1960 where he went to college and later became a teacher, while he was there he dated a young lady called Christine Perfect who later married Fleetwood Mac's, John McVie. They used to busk and play in folk clubs with the Ian Campbell Trio. With Christine on piano and Davis on 12 string, they would play Canadian folk songs, mining songs like "Spring Hill" and "Nova Scotia." They also did W.C. Handy songs like "Careless Love," and Leadbelly tunes.

The Spencer Davis Group was formed in Birmingham in 1963. Their first original song was the B-side of "Dimples", their debut single. It was "Sittin' And Thinkin'". Steve Winwood was the vocalist for the Spencer Davis Group, who had two big selling hits in 1967, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm A Man".

The group initially broke up when Winwood left to join Traffic in April 1967, although various incarnations of the band have toured in recent years, under the Davis' tutelage.

Davis now lives in Avalon on Catalina Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of south west California. He can be found regularly accompanying other musicians on stage at such establishments as Luau Larry's and St. Catherines.