Cleo Davis (March 9, 1919 – July 17, 1986) was an American musician from Georgia who gained prominence as "the original Blue Grass Boy". The creator of the "Blue Grass Boys" was Bill Monroe, also known as The Father of Bluegrass. Davis' performing career spanned 48 years as a singer and instrumentalist, and greatly influenced the

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

and bluegrass artists of today.

Early life

Davis was born to Ben and Effie Davis in their home in northwest Georgia. Cleo was surrounded by music since he was born, with his mother playing the pump organ and father playing the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

( clawhammer style). After his first guitar was sat on, he ordered a new one from a Sears and Roebuck catalog, which cost $2.40.

Musical career

In August 1938, Davis went to an audition for Bill Monroe from an ad he saw in a newspaper to play "old-time songs." After the successful audition, Bill took Davis to a local pawn shop where Bill bought Davis $37.50 orchestra style guitar. Bill then bought Davis a new suit of clothes and a

Stetson Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, in particular, in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous hats when he ...

hat. Davis spent the next two months practicing without performing to perfect their act. They mostly worked up songs that Bill did with the Monroe Brothers (Bill and Charlie Monroe) due to the similarities of Davis' and Charlie's singing. Like Charlie, Cleo did also play the guitar. Bill and Davis auditioned at several radio stations before they got their first gig as a duet at WWNC in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. Bill Monroe hired more members to the group as they grew in popularity. They went by the name of "Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys". Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys first appeared at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

in 1939 and later joined as members. Davis continued in the band until late 1940 to form his own group. Late in 1941, went to fight in

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Davis moved to Florida when he returned from WWII and landed a job playing for the WLAK radio station. Davis ended his music career by helping fund and organize the Florida Opry House.

References

External links

Digital Library of Appalachia: Interview with Cleo Davis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Cleo 1919 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians