Charles Edward "Cow Cow" Davenport (April 23, 1894 – December 3, 1955) was an American boogie-woogie and

piano blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

player as well as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

entertainer. He also played the organ and sang. Davenport, who also made recordings under the pseudonyms of Bat The Humming Bird, George Hamilton and The Georgia Grinder, is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Career

He was born in Anniston, Alabama, United States, one of eight children. Davenport started to play the piano at age 12. His father objected strongly to his musical aspirations and sent him to a theological seminary, where he was expelled for playing

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

. Davenport's career began in the 1920s when he joined the K.G. Barkoot Traveling Carnival. His initial profile came as accompanist to

blues musicians Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

Dora Carr Dora Carr was an American musician, best known for her work in the early and mid-1920s with pianist and arranger Cow Cow Davenport. Carr is best remembered for the song "Cow Cow Blues" and playing boogie-woogie. Dora Carr was also a vocalist who wen ...

and Ivy Smith. Davenport and Carr performed as a

act as "Davenport & Co", and he performed with Smith as the "Chicago Steppers".Olderen, Martin van, ''Cow Cow Blues'', liner notes, Oldie Blues OL 2811, 1979 He also performed with Tampa Red. Davenport recorded for many record labels, and was a talent scout and artist for

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

. Davenport suffered a stroke in 1938 and lost movement in his hands. He was washing dishes when he was found by the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist

Art Hodes Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist. Biography Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...

. Hodes assisted in his rehabilitation and helped him find new recording contracts. His best-known tune was "Cow Cow Blues". The "Cow Cow" in the title referred to a train's cowcatcher. The popularity of the song led to Davenport gaining the nickname "Cow Cow." In 1953, "Cow Cow Blues" was an influence on the

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

-written " Mess Around" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, which was Charles's first step away from his

Nat "King" Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

-esque style, and into the style he would employ throughout the 1950s for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. "

Cow-Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay) "Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)" is a "country-boogie"-style blues song, with music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De Paul. The song was written for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film '' Ride 'Em Cowboy'' ...

" (1943) was probably named for him, but he did not write it. It was penned by Benny Carter,

Gene de Paul Gene Vincent de Paul (June 17, 1919 – February 27, 1988) was an American pianist, composer and songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II. He was married to Billye Louise Files (Novem ...

and

Don Raye Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thr ...

. It combined the then popular "Western song" craze (exemplified by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

's "I'm an Old Cowhand") with the big-band boogie-woogie fad. The track was written for the

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

film '' Ride 'Em Cowboy'' (1942). Davenport claimed to have been the composer of "Mama Don't Allow It". He also said he had written the

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

hit "I'll be Glad When You're Dead (You Rascal You)", but sold the

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...

and credit to others. He died in December 1955 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, of atherosclerosis, and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Bedford Heights,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Discography

* 1976 – "Cow Cow Blues", in ''Vocalion 1928–1930 (The Piano Blues Vol. 3)'',

Magpie Records Magpie Records is a British record label set up in 1976 by Bruce Bastin. It was owned by Interstate Music. It specialises in re-issuing pre and post war blues and jazz recordings. The ''New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' calls the series ''Piano B ...

, Magpie PY 4403 * 1979 – ''Cow Cow Davenport: Alabama Strut'', Magpie Records, Magpie PY 1814 * 1979 – ''Cow Cow Blues'',

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

, OL 2811

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Cow Cow 1894 births 1955 deaths People from Anniston, Alabama Boogie-woogie pianists American blues singers American blues pianists American male pianists Vocalion Records artists Vaudeville performers Blues musicians from Alabama 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians

Career

Discography

See also

References