Carl H. Davis Sr. (September 19, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and music executive, who was particularly active in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. He was responsible for hit R&B records by

Gene Chandler Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful song ...

, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin,

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) (although many sources have his date of birth as May 4, 1938), was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more th ...

and others.

Life and career

Davis was born in Chicago and attended Englewood High School. He began working as an assistant to

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Al Benson on radio station WGES in 1955, and then joined a record marketing company. In the early 1960s, he helped run the small Nat record label which had a local hit with the song "Nite Owl" by the DuKays, produced by Davis. A follow-up release, "

Duke of Earl "Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was written by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edw ...

", which Davis also produced, was credited to the group's lead singer Gene Chandler, and became a national no. 1 hit after being leased to the larger Vee-Jay label. In 1962, Davis began working as a producer and A&R director for the Columbia subsidiary label

OKeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, where he produced a number of hit records for Major Lance, Billy Butler and Walter Jackson. Many were characterised as "peppy, brassy arrangements... and danceable, upbeat songs with a Latin tinge," often using songs written by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

that Mayfield felt were inappropriate for his own group, The Impressions. He also continued to produce records for Gene Chandler and The Artistics, and briefly produced

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with the Supremes, the Miracles, the Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

after she left

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

. In the mid-1960s, he began working for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

, where he produced Jackie Wilson's comeback hit, "Whispers" and the million-seller, "

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" is an R&B song written by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. It was recorded by Jackie Wilson for his album '' Higher and Higher'' (1967), produced by Carl Davis, and became a Top 1 ...

", Barbara Acklin's "Love Makes a Woman", as well as several early hits by The Chi-Lites. He also formed the

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

label, which had a long run of hits with Tyrone Davis (no relation), including "Can I Change My Mind" and "Turn Back the Hands of Time," and also found success with

Hamilton Bohannon Hamilton Frederick Bohannon (March 7, 1942 – April 24, 2020), often credited and known professionally simply as Bohannon, was an American drummer, percussionist, band leader, songwriter, arrangement, arranger, and record producer, who was one ...

. When the Dakar label folded in 1976, Davis formed

Chi Sound Records Chi-Sound Records is an independent record label set up in 1976 by established Chicago record producer Carl Davis. He had been involved in the music industry since the early 1960s working with locally based record labels, including Vee-Jay and ...

, continuing to find success with Walter Jackson and having a major hit single in 1978 with Gene Chandler's "Get Down". After a distribution deal with 20th Century Records ended in 1981, Davis used independent distribution for two years before closing Chi Sound down. The company had a brief revival in 1989–90, before re-opening in 2007 and remained active until Davis' death. On February 11, 2013, Carl Davis was honored during the

55th Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

, along with several other music business personalities in the memorial pictorial tribute. Carl Davis’ biography, ''The Man Behind the Music: The Legendary Carl Davis'', was published in May 2011, by Life To Legacy, LLC, Matteson IL.

Death

Davis died from pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 77, in his home in

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, South Carolina, Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley County, South Carolina, Berkeley and Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston ...

, on the morning of August 9, 2012."United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014," database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK44-GLMS : accessed 13 December 2022), Mr Carl H Davis Sr, Illinois, United States, 18 Aug 2012; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, ''GenealogyBank.com'' (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing ''Chicago Crusader'', born-digital text.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Carl 1934 births 2012 deaths Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Record producers from Illinois American music industry executives Businesspeople from Chicago People from Summerville, South Carolina 20th-century American businesspeople