Performance · Other credits

Rev. Gary Davis

real name Gary Davis

Rev. Gary Davis is credited on 1,167 releases across 285 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1956–2025 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.

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1,167

Credits

285

Albums

Decades active

932

In collections

Biography

African-American blues, gospel singer and guitarist
Born: April 30, 1896 in Laurens County, SC, USA
Died: May 5, 1972 in Hammonton, NJ, USA
Born partially blind, Davis lost what little was left of his sight at a young age. Self-taught on the guitar, he assumed a unique multi-voice style produced solely with his thumb and index finger, playing ragtime, traditional, blues and original tunes in four-part harmony. He frequently performed on the streets of New York near Harlem, where he also came to be a well-known figure. In the 1930s occasionally accompanied his student Blind Boy Fuller or Bull City Red on recordings as a 2nd guitarist. In the 1950s in New York, he often collaborated.
He has been an influence on dozens of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Donovan, Jorma Kaukonen, Ry Cooder, David Bromberg, Wizz Jones and Blind Boy Fuller.

Bio from Discogs