James "Boo Boo" Davis (born November 4, 1943) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

musician. Davis is one of the few remaining blues musicians who gained experience singing the blues in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

, having sung to help pass the time while picking the cotton

fields Fields may refer to: Music *Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 *Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song by ...

Biography

Early life

Davis was born in

Drew, Mississippi Drew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi. The population was 1,927 at the 2010 census. Drew is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men. It is note ...

, where he was raised in the heart of Mississippi Delta. Davis got the nickname Boo Boo from his father as a child; the name derives from his three uncles James, Boo-Jack and Davis. Davis's passion for music started at age five when his mother took him to church and he played the harmonica and sang. Blues legends such as

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

Robert Pete Williams Robert Pete Williams (March 14, 1914 – December 31, 1980) was an American Louisiana blues musician. His music characteristically employed unconventional structures and guitar tunings, and his songs are often about the time he served in pris ...

and

Robert Petway Robert Petway (born c. 1903, date of death unknown) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He recorded only 16 songs, but it has been said that he was an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians, including John Lee Hooker, Muddy Wat ...

would visit the family home to rehearse blues songs with Davis' father, Sylvester Davis. When he was eighteen years old he began playing drums for the family band, Lard Can Band, because Davis did not possess a drum kit and was forced to play on a lard can. The band featured his multi-instrumental father, Sylvester Sr., his younger brother Sylvester Jr. on the guitar, and his sister Clara on vocals. The band played throughout the state of Mississippi, including a stint as the back up for

B.B King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

, who was unknown at the time.

Career

Davis moved north in the early 60s and played all around the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

area until his older brother brought him to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

where he sang with Doc Terry,

and others. Davis played in Doc Terry's band, playing the drums. After leaving Doc Terry's band, Davis started a band with Little Aaron who wrote the song East St. Louis which later featured on Davis's album of the same name. Davis and Aaron backed up several blues legends such as

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, Sonny Boy Williamson,

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include "Baby, I Love ...

and

. In 1972, Davis formed another family band called the Davis Brothers Band which played twice a week at a club in East St. Louis, Tabby’s Red Room, for 18 years. In 1999, Davis appeared on Arthur Williams' album ''Harpin' On It''. In September of the same year he made his solo recording debut with

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-based label Black and Tan Records. He made his first tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 2000, performing in the

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the UK. While in the UK, he recorded music for a

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radio show hosted by

The Blues Band The Blues Band is a British blues band formed in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and harmonica player with Manfred Mann, and guitarist Tom McGuinness also of Manfred Mann and The Roosters. The band’s first line-up also included bass ...

's Paul Jones. Davis's fourth album ''Drew, Mississippi'' featured in the top 10 blues albums of 2006 according to

Mojo magazine ''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...

. In 2007, Davis performed live on

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

national radio station

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

. Davis's song "I'm So Tired", was used in a television commercial for 5-Hour Energy and an episode of ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

''.

Discography

Albums

*''East St. Louis'' (1999) *''Can Man'' (2002) *''The Snake'' (2004) *''Drew, Mississippi'' (2006) *''Name of the Game'' (2008) *''Ain't Gotta Dime'' (2009) *''Undercover Blues'' (2011) *''What Kind of Shit Is This?'' (2014) *''Oldskool'' (2015) *''One Chord Blues'' (2016) *''Tree Man'' (2019)

Compilation albums

*''Keeping Music Alive'' (2005) *''Black & Tan Sampler, Vol. 2'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Boo Boo 1943 births Living people American blues drummers American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists American male singers American blues harmonica players St. Louis blues musicians Songwriters from Mississippi Blues musicians from Mississippi Electric blues musicians Guitarists from Mississippi People from Drew, Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters