Spencer Davis
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| Spencer Davis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Spencer David Nelson Davis |
| Born | 17 July 1939 |
| Origin | Bon-y-maen, Swansea, South Wales, Wales |
| Genre(s) | Pop music |
| Years active | 1960s-present |
| Label(s) | Fontana |
| Associated acts | The Spencer Davis Group |
| Website | spencer-davis-group.com |
Spencer David Nelson Davis (born 17 July 1939 in South Wales, UK) is a musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group. Davis' fluency in German, French and Spanish helped him gain great popularity throughout continental Europe, not to mention the U.S.
Influenced by his Uncle Herman's mandolin playing, Spencer Davis began learning to play harmonica and accordion at the age of six. He moved to London when he was sixteen and began working in the Civil Service as a clerical officer at the Post Office Savings Bank. His early influences were skiffle, jazz, and blues, the mainstays of popular club music in the early 1960s. Influentail artists include Big Bill Broonzy, Huddy Ledbetter, Davey Graham, John Martyn, Alexis Korner and Long John Baldry.
By sixteen, Davis was hooked on the guitar and the American rhythm and blues music making its way across the Atlantic. With few opportunities to hear R & B in England, Davis sought out any performance that came to town. When he heard a Dixieland band perform a skiffle version of the R & B song "John Henry," he was transfixed. He formed a skiffle band called The Saints with Bill Perks, who later changed his name to Bill Wyman.
In 1960, Davis moved to Birmingham, England where he became a language scholar at the University of Birmingham. In music circles, Davis was later known as "Professor". In these early years, Davis often performed on stage after his teaching workday was finished. While in Birmingham, he dated Christine Perfect, who later married Fleetwood Mac's, John McVie. They busked and played in folk clubs with the Ian Campbell Trio. With Christine on piano and Davis on 12 string, they performed Canadian folk songs, mining tunes like "Spring Hill" and "Nova Scotia." They also interpreted W.C. Handy songs like "Careless Love," as well as Leadbelly tunes.
In 1963, Davis went to a local tavern to see Muff Woody, a traditional jazz band featuring Muff and Steve Winwood. Steve, only 15 at the time, was already gaining notice for his musical abilities. Muff, 5 years older than his brother, was an accomplished jazz musician. When Davis saw the brothers' musical versatility, he knew he had found his band. He soon persuaded them to join him and drummer Pete York as the Rhythm and Blues Quartet. Davis performed on guitar, vocals and harmonica, Steve Winwood on guitar, organ and vocals, Muff Winwood on bass, and Pete York on drums. Playing mainly R & B covers, the band performed first in Birmingham at the Golden Eagle pub on Hill Street, but within a year they had landed a regular gig at The Marquee, a London club. By 1964 they adopted the name Spencer Davis Group and begun to gain the attention of Britain's musical elite. Steve Winwood sang the Spencer Davis Group's two biggest hits in 1967: "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm A Man".
The Spencer Davis Group initially disbanded when Winwood left to form Traffic in April 1967, although various incarnations of the band have toured in recent years, under the Davis' direction.
While remaining true to his Welsh roots as an honorary member and supporter of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, Davis now lives in Avalon on Catalina Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southwest California. He can be found regularly accompanying other musicians on stage at such establishments as Flip's, Luau Larry's and St. Catherines.
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