| Paul Davis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Paul Lavon Davis |
| Born | April 21, 1948 Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 2008 (aged 60) Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Genres | Blue-eyed soul, country, pop rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, piano |
| Years active | 1958–2008 |
| Labels | Bang, Arista |
| Associated acts | Tanya Tucker Paul Overstreet Marie Osmond |
Paul Lavon Davis (April 21, 1948 – April 22, 2008) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his radio hits and solo career which started worldwide in 1970. His career encompassed soul, country and pop music. Notable songs in his career include 1977's "I Go Crazy", a #7 pop hit which once held the record for the longest chart run on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the #6 "'65 Love Affair", his highest-charting pop hit. In the mid 1980s, he also had two country #1 hits as a guest vocalist on songs by Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker, and wrote singles for other country singers.
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Davis was a member of a local group called the Six Soul Survivors around 1966 and later in another group called the Endless Chain. In 1968 he was a writer for Malaco Records, based in Jackson, Mississippi. He also had a stint with Detroit based group The Spinners, whom he'd produced, written and arranged for.
Ilene Berns, widow of Bert Berns, signed Davis to Bang Records in 1969, and in 1970, released a cover version of The Jarmels' hit song "A Little Bit of Soap", reaching #52 on the Billboard pop charts. His first album, A Little Bit of Paul Davis, was released in 1970. In 1974, he recorded his third album, Ride 'Em Cowboy, which entered the Top 40 for the title track. The same song also became a Top 40 Country hit for Juice Newton in 1984.
Davis had his first American Top 10 single with the ballad "I Go Crazy," which peaked at #7 in 1978. "I Go Crazy" spent 40 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, which at the time set the single-song record for most consecutive weeks on the chart in the rock era. The follow-up, "Sweet Life", also did well, peaking at #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #17 on the Pop chart. The corresponding album Singer of Songs – Teller of Tales was a modest success, peaking at #82 on the Billboard pop album chart. He was the last artist active on the Bang Records label when it folded in 1981.
After one more album on the Bang label, Paul Davis signed with Arista Records in 1981 and scored two more Top 15 singles, "Cool Night" (which reached #11 on Billboard's Hot 100 and hit #2 on Adult Contemporary in January 1982) and "'65 Love Affair" (a major Top 10 hit on both Pop and Adult Contemporary charts). His Arista debut album spawned a third hit with Davis' remake of "Love or Let Me Be Lonely". The single contained a third verse of music which was not included on the album version, and despite its top 40 and AC success, this single version has never been reissued on any CD including the various Paul Davis anthologies that have been released on CD, until Wounded Bird reissued the Best of Paul Davis compilation in 2011. Davis retired from making records for a time, except for two duet singles that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. The first was in 1986 with Marie Osmond singing "You're Still New to Me" while the second, in 1988, was a collaboration with Tanya Tucker and Paul Overstreet singing "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love". Davis also wrote "Meet Me in Montana," which Paul's friend Dan Seals and Osmond took to #1 on the Billboard Country chart in 1985, and "Bop", a solo #1 Country hit for Seals in early 1986. Through the years, Davis was heavily influenced by technology. He owned numerous synthesizers and spent a great majority of his spare time at his home composing music that he hoped would be used for inclusion of future films. Additionally, Davis was very versatile with sampling and using the Synclavier & Fairlight CMI.
Before his death on April 22, 2008 (one day after his 60th birthday), Davis returned to singing and songwriting by recording two songs, "You Ain't Sweet Enough" and "Today." He died from a heart attack at the Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi.
Davis survived a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee on July 29, 1986. He was leaving a hotel on Music Row with a female companion when an unidentified man walked up, demanded his wallet, and shot him in the abdomen.[1][2]
Davis was an avid golfer. [3]
Country music singer Charly McClain's song, "Best That Never Was", was specially written and dedicated to Paul Davis on her 1983 album Paradise.
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | CAN | ||
| 1970 | A Little Bit of Paul Davis | — | — | — |
| 1972 | Paul Davis | — | — | — |
| 1974 | Ride 'Em Cowboy | 148 | 19 | — |
| 1976 | Southern Tracks & Fantasies | — | — | — |
| 1977 | Singer of Songs: Teller of Tales | 82 | — | 77 |
| 1980 | Paul Davis | 173 | — | — |
| 1981 | Cool Night | 52 | — | — |
| 1982 | Best of Paul Davis | — | — | — |
| 1999 | Sweet Life: His Greatest Hit Singles | — | — | — |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | US Country | CAN | CAN AC | |||
| 1970 | "A Little Bit of Soap" | 52 | 27 | — | 60 | — | A Little Bit of Paul Davis |
| "I Just Wanna Keep It Together" | 51 | 34 | — | 38 | — | ||
| "Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It)" | 118 | — | — | — | — | Single only | |
| 1973 | "Boogie Woogie Man" | 68 | — | — | — | — | Paul Davis |
| 1974 | "Ride 'Em Cowboy" | 23 | 4 | 47 | 30 | 6 | Ride 'Em Cowboy |
| 1975 | "Keep Our Love Alive" | 90 | — | — | — | — | Single only |
| 1976 | "Thinking of You" | 45 | 31 | — | — | — | Southern Tracks & Fantasies |
| "Superstar" | 35 | 31 | — | 53 | — | ||
| 1977 | "I Go Crazy" | 7 | 25 | — | 4 | — | Singer of Songs - Teller of Tales |
| 1978 | "Sweet Life" | 17 | 7 | 85 | 15 | — | |
| "Darlin" (with Susan Collins) | 51 | — | — | 37 | — | ||
| 1980 | "Do Right" | 23 | 4 | — | 64 | — | Paul Davis |
| "Cry Just a Little" | 78 | 36 | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Cool Night" | 11 | 2 | — | 34 | — | Cool Night |
| 1982 | "'65 Love Affair" | 6 | 5 | — | 11 | — | |
| "Love or Let Me Be Lonely" | 40 | 11 | — | — | — | ||
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | ||||
| 1986 | "You're Still New to Me" | Marie Osmond | 1 | 1 | I Only Wanted You |
| 1988 | "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love" | Tanya Tucker (with Paul Overstreet) |
1 | 10 | Love Me Like You Used To |
| "Sweet Life" (re-recording) | Marie Osmond | 47 | 55 | All in Love | |