Chip Davis
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Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. (born November 15, 1947 in Sylvania, Ohio) is the founder and leader of the "18th century classical rock" group Mannheim Steamroller.
He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".
[edit] Biography
Louis F. Davis was born in 1947 in Sylvania, Ohio. He began piano lessons at age 4 and had composed his first piece of music at age 6. He graduated from the University of Michigan music school, specializing in bassoon and percussion.
After touring with the Norman Luboff Choir, he took a job with an Omaha, Nebraska advertising agency writing jingles. These included spots for a local bakery featuring the fictional trucker C. W. McCall. The spots were co-written with advertising writer William Fries, who became the voice of McCall. The spots were so popular, they were persuaded to begin writing non-advertising songs featuring McCall. The most famous of these is the 1975 "Convoy". The duo released a total of five albums between 1974 and 1979. Davis was named ASCAP Country Music Writer of the Year in 1976. During these early years, some of Davis' compositions that fell into the category of what was known as "New Music" were featured in a concert by the Voices of Mel Olson in the Witherspoon Hall of Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, USA. with Davis directing the community chorale for those songs.
Davis founded Mannheim Steamroller in 1974 to showcase his interest in fusing modern popular and classical techniques. The first Fresh Aire album was released shortly after. It was turned down by major record labels, so Davis founded American Gramaphone to release; this has been the label for all subsequent Mannheim Steamroller releases. A total of eight Fresh Aire albums were released, concluding with Fresh Aire 8 in 2000. Fresh Aire 7 was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Age Recording in 1990.
Mannheim Steamroller released Mannheim Steamroller Christmas in 1984, and the group's subsequent Christmas music albums have sold tens of millions of copies and become among the most popular recordings in that genre.
Davis lives north of Omaha with his wife Trisha and his three children, Kelly, Evan and Elyse. He remains President and CEO of American Gramaphone Records.
