Roy Davis Jr. is an American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

ian from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

, specialising in

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

Biography

Davis was born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States, and became interested in house music at an early age by the likes of

Lil' Louis Marvin Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Da ...

DJ Pierre Nathaniel Pierre Jones, better known by his stage name DJ Pierre, is an American DJ and performer of house music based in Chicago. He helped to develop the house music subgenre of acid house, as member of Phuture, whose 1987 EP ''Acid Tracks'' ...

Farley Keith Farley may refer to: People * Farley (name), a list of people with the given name or surname Places Antarctica * Mount Farley * Farley Massif Australia * Farley, New South Wales * Farley railway station England * Farley, Derbyshire * Farl ...

(Farley Jackmaster Funk) and

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

. Davis began his own production company named

Phuture Phuture is an American house music group from Chicago, founded in 1985 by Earl Smith Jr., Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka DJ Pierre, and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson. The group is famous for inventing and defining the sound of acid ...

in the late 1980s and went on to become an A&R scout for record label Strictly Rhythm in NYC whilst also running his Chicago founded record label Undaground Therapy Muzik. A few years later, Davis and singer-songwriter

Peven Everett "Gabriel" is a song by Roy Davis Jr. and Peven Everett. It was first released in the U.S. in 1996 on Large Records, titled "Gabrielle". It originally states on the record that the track was produced by Davis Jr., with Everett providing vocals and ...

wrote and produced the single "

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

" which was released on Large Records in 1996 and later licensed and released on

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

in 1997. The track garnered international airplay, and was played in nightclubs around the world. It peaked at No. 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1997. The single sold over 200,000 copies and has appeared on numerous of compilation albums including ''Desert Island Mix'' from

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

. In 2004, Davis' track "About Love" reached No. 70 in the UK, adding to the list of previous chart success with records such as "Who Dares to Believe in Me" under alias The Believers which was released on New York label Strictly Rhythm and "All I Do" released on

Omar-S Omar-S (real name Alexander Omar Smith) is an electronic music producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Discography Albums * ''Just Ask The Lonely'' (FXHE, 2005) * ''111'' (2006) * ''It Can Be Done But Only I Can Do It'' (2011) * ''Tha ...

' artist-run label FXHE. Roy Davis Jr. has also been known for his work for

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Son of French music composer and artist Daniel Vangarde. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft ...

's label

Roulé Roulé () was a French record label founded in 1995 by former Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter. Roulé had a side label entitled ''Scratché'' () which released only one record, produced by the Buffalo Bunch (Paul de Homem-Christo and Romain S ...

which operated out of Paris in the early '90s and his production work for artists such as

Eric Benet The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...

and

Morcheeba Morcheeba is an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock music, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ...

. In 2011, he produced a record with J. Noize and Kaye Fox called "Enjoy the Ride". In April 2016, Davis announced that he had been diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, and was to cancel some planned shows but planned to return to performing live and producing music as his health would allow him.

Discography

Albums

*''The Secret Mission'' *''Traxx from the Nile'' *''Chicago Forever'' *''Water for Thirsty Children'' *''God Life Music'' *''Destroy & Rebuild''

Compilations

*''Midnight Passion / Looking for Excitement'' *''Soul Electra''

Singles

*"Rock Shock" *"I Got the Music" *"Galactic Disco" *"

" (feat. Peven Everett) - UK #22 *"About Love" - UK #70 *All I D

References

External links

Roy Davis Jr. at Ubiquity Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Roy Jr. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American house musicians African-American DJs Club DJs House DJs Remixers Musicians from Chicago DJs from Chicago Ubiquity Records artists XL Recordings artists People with multiple sclerosis 21st-century African-American people Electronic dance music DJs Peacefrog Records artists