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 In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, and pop. His most successful songs are 1977's " I Go Crazy", a No. 7 pop hit which once held the record for the longest chart run on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and 1982's " '65 Love Affair", which at No. 6 is his highest-charting single. Another pop hit, " Cool Night", was released in 1981. In the mid-1980s, he also had two No. 1 country hits as a guest vocalist on songs by

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

and

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

Career

Davis was born in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

, United States. He 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 Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, La ...

, based in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

Ilene Berns Ilene Berns ('' née'' Holub; May 1, 1943 – February 20, 2017) was a record company director. Born to a Jewish family in Cleveland, Ohio, Berns worked as a go-go dancer in New York City nightclubs before meeting her husband Bert Berns, the so ...

, widow of

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", " Piec ...

, signed Davis to

Bang Records Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. The first letters of their names (Bert, Ahmet, Nesuhi, Gerald) formed the label's name. Forming the ...

in 1969, and in 1970, released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

The Jarmels The Jarmels was an American doo wop rhythm and blues group formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia best known for their only 1961 hit, " A Little Bit of Soap". Career The start of their big break came in 1960 when they were at a local (Richmond) ...

' hit "

A Little Bit of Soap A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

", reaching No. 52 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. His first album, ''A Little Bit of Paul Davis'', was released in 1970. In 1974, he recorded his third album, ''Ride 'Em Cowboy'', and the title track, his first top 40 single, peaked at No. 23 on January 18, 1975. (The same song became a Top 40 Country hit for

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

in 1984.) Davis also reached No. 35 in September 1976 with "Superstar", a tribute song not related to any of the 1971 hits by that name. Davis had his first American Top 10 single with the ballad " I Go Crazy," which after 30 weeks on the Hot 100 peaked at No. 7 on March 18, 1978. "I Go Crazy" spent 40 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which at the time set the record for most weeks on the chart. The follow-up, " Sweet Life", also did well, peaking at No. 17. On May 17, 1980, his gospel-tinged " Do Right" peaked at No. 23, and

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

noted the religious aspects of this song, along with other songs before it, on that day's edition of

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

. Davis was active on Bang Records when the label folded in the early 1980s. After one more album on the Bang label, Davis signed with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

in 1981 and scored two more hits, " Cool Night" (which in February 1982 reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart) and " '65 Love Affair" (a Top 10 hit on both charts). "Cool Night" has been listed as an example of

yacht rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

. His Arista debut album spawned a third hit with a remake of "

Love or Let Me Be Lonely "Love or Let Me Be Lonely" is a pop song recorded by the soul group The Friends of Distinction and released as a single in early 1970. The song was a multi-format success, peaking in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at #6 on May 1, 1970 an ...

". The single contained a third verse of music which was not included on the album version, and despite its Top 40 and AC success, had never been reissued on any CD release until Wounded Bird reissued the ''Best of Paul Davis'' compilation in 2011. Davis retired from making records for a time, except for two duets that went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. The first was in 1986 with

singing "

You're Still New to Me "You're Still New to Me" is a song written by Paul Davis and Paul Overstreet, and recorded by American country music artist Marie Osmond as a duet with Davis. It was released in July 1986 as the first single from Osmond's album '' I Only Wanted ...

"; while the second, in 1988, was a collaboration with

and

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He recorded 10 studio albums between 1982 and 2005, and charted 16 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts, including two ...

singing "

I Won't Take Less Than Your Love "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love" is a song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist Tanya Tucker with Paul Davis & Overstreet. It was released in October 1987 as the second single from the album ...

". Davis also wrote "

Meet Me in Montana "Meet Me in Montana" is a song recorded by American country music artists Dan Seals and Marie Osmond. It was released in July 1985 as the lead-off single from Seals' album ''Won't Be Blue Anymore'', and the second single from Osmond's 1985 album ...

", which his friend

Dan Seals Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009) was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted ...

and Osmond took to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1985, and "Bop", a solo No. 1 country hit for Seals in early 1986.

Personal life and death

Davis was an avid golfer, and was also an avid

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

enthusiast. His father was a preacher. Paul Davis survived a shooting in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, 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. He was married to Pamela Gayle Jay Davis, who enjoyed a brief career with Bang Records/Web IV Music in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where Davis was writing and recording his songs. When their only son Jonathan was born with

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

, Pamela retired from the music world to care for him. She died on March 20, 2017. Paul Davis died of a heart attack at the Rush Foundation Hospital in

, on April 22, 2008, a day after his 60th birthday.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

Soundtrack appearances

References

External links

*
Paul Davis
discography *

interview * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Paul 1948 births 2008 deaths American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Mississippi American country pianists American organists American country keyboardists American country rock singers American country singer-songwriters American soft rock musicians Musicians from Meridian, Mississippi American shooting survivors 20th-century American singers American soul singers American soul keyboardists Arista Records artists Country musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American keyboardists