Russell Edward "Rusty Day" Davidson (December 29, 1945 – June 3, 1982) was a

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, best known for his work with

Cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

, the Amboy Dukes, and

Steve Gaines Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 – October 20, 1977) was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claime ...

Career with the Amboy Dukes

Day joined the Amboy Dukes in 1969 after their former vocalist was fired. Day had just quit his own band, Rusty Day & the Midnighters. He stayed only for one album, '' Migration''.

Career with Cactus

was conceived in late

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

as a supergroup of the Vanilla Fudge

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, plus guitarist

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

and singer

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

. However, Beck had an automobile accident and Stewart joined Ronnie Wood in Faces. Out of frustration, Bogert and Appice formed what became Cactus in early 1970. The cast was complete when Day joined them on vocals and Jim McCarty joined on

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

. Having made a name for himself in Detroit's rock scene, Day worked to restore the Band Detroit to national prominence. The Band Detroit was formed as an offshoot of

the Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American rock band, formed in Detroit in 1964. They served as Mitch Ryder's backup band from 1964 to 1967. The band had a number of top twenty hits in the mid-1960s before lead singer Ryder was enticed away by Bob C ...

by members

(who later joined

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

), Teddy "T-Mel" Smith, Nathaniel Peterson, Terry Emery, Bill Hodgeson, and others. There is a recording of Rusty Day, Steve Gaines, and the rest of the band performing in 1973 called ''The Band Detroit - The Driftwood Tapes'', which was released as a Lynyrd Skynyrd bootleg in 1998. In 1976, Day re-incarnated Cactus by placing an ad in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' which stated that he needed exceptionally good guitar, bass, and drums. This line-up lasted from 1976 until 1979, and featured Gary "Madman" Moffatt, who currently plays drums for

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

. Day turned down

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

's request to have him join their band to replace Bon Scott, and Rossington-Collins's request to have him replace Ronnie Van Zant. He eventually formed Uncle Acid & the Permanent Damage Band, which gained him a deal with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Rusty Day formed his last band, the Rusty Day Band, in 1979 and hired Jacksonville guitarist Mike Owings. Owings had just left the Jacksonville, Florida band Lizzy Borden with Steve Gaines' brother, Bob Gaines, as drummer. Owings was then 20 years old.

Death

Day was fatally shot at his home on June 3, 1982. His son, his dog, and Garth McRae were also fatally shot. The murder officially remains unsolved, although the Seminole County Sheriff's Office believe the victims may have known the perpetrator, and that the killings may have been drug related. In 2011 and 2015, it was asserted that Ron Sanders, guitarist and bandmate in Uncle Acid & the Permanent Damage Band, was the perpetrator of the shooting. Sanders shot himself six weeks after the murders, when police surrounded his home on other matters.

References

Sources

*Knight, K. J. ''Knight Moves: The K. J. Knight Story''. S.l.: Trafford On Demand Pub, 2011. Print. *Miller, Steve. ''Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History Of Rock & Roll In America's Loudest City'', 2013,

External links