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Ellis CeDell Davis (June 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He was most notable for his distinctive style of guitar playing. Davis played guitar using a butter knife in his fretting hand in a manner similar to slide guitar, resulting in what ''The New York Times'' critic
Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...
called "a welter of metal-stress harmonic
transients Transience or transient may refer to: Music * ''Transient'' (album), a 2004 album by Gaelle * ''Transience'' (Steven Wilson album), 2015 * Transience (Wreckless Eric album) Science and engineering * Transient state, when a process variable or ...
and a singular tonal
plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...
".


Biography

Davis was born in
Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the ...
, United States, where his family worked on a local plantation. He enjoyed music from a young age, playing harmonica and guitar with his childhood friends. When he was 10, he suffered from severe
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...
which gave him little control over his left hand and restricted use of his right. He had been playing guitar prior to his polio and decided to continue despite his handicap, which led to his development of the butter knife method. Once he sufficiently mastered his variation on slide guitar playing, Davis began playing in various nightclubs across the
Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...
area. He played with
Robert Nighthawk Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk. He was the father of the blues musician Sam Carr. Nighthawk was ...
for a ten-year period from 1953 to 1963. While playing in a club in 1957, a police raid caused the crowd to stampede over Davis. Both of his legs were broken in this incident and he was forced to use a wheelchair from that time onwards. The hardships resulting from his physical handicaps were a major influence on his lyrics and style of blues playing. Davis moved to
Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock- North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combi ...
in the early 1960s and continued his artistic work. In recent times, Davis' music has been released by the
Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Spri ...
label to much critical acclaim. His 1994 album, produced by
Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...
, ''Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong'', received a 9.0 from
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
who called it "timeless." ''The Best Of CeDell Davis'' (1995) was also released, with help from
Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit is a jazz fusion group founded by Col. Bruce Hampton. The band gained popularity in the Atlanta club scene in the early 1990s and went on to tour with the first H.O.R.D.E. Tour. During their format ...
. ''The Horror of It All'' followed in 1998. His album ''When Lightnin' Struck the Pine'', released in 2002, included work by musicians
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his c ...
,
Barrett Martin Barrett Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American record producer, percussionist, writer, and ethnomusicologist from Washington. As a producer he has won one Latin Grammy and has been nominated in two other categories. As an ethnomusicologist ...
,
Scott McCaughey Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. He was also an auxiliary member of the American rock band R.E.M. from 1994 u ...
, and
Alex Veley Alex Veley is an American rock musician, soul keyboardist and singer. Biography He was a founding member of Seattle-based neo-soul band Maktub in the 1990s with lead singer Reggie Watts and co-produced the band's debut album, 2000's '' Subtl ...
. Davis died on September 27, 2017, from complications of a heart attack in
Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is ...
, at the age of 91. The
Tedeschi Trucks Band The Tedeschi Trucks Band () is an American blues and blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 2010, the band is led by married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Their debut album, '' Revelator'' (2011), won the 2012 Gr ...
album, ''
Signs Signs may refer to: * ''Signs'' (2002 film), a 2002 film by M. Night Shyamalan * ''Signs'' (TV series) (Polish: ''Znaki'') is a 2018 Polish-language television series * ''Signs'' (journal), a journal of women's studies *Signs (band), an American ...
'', was dedicated to Davis as a nod to Col. Bruce Hampton and his love of the man's music.


Discography

*''The Introduction To Living Country Blues USA'' - 1981 (1 track of the 12) *''Living Country Blues USA Vol. 5'' - 1982 (4 tracks of the 12 tracks) *''Living Country Blues USA Vol. 10'' - 1982 (1 track of the 13 tracks) *''Keep It to Yourself: Arkansas Blues, Vol. 1'' - 1983 (4 tracks of the 23 tracks) *''Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong'' - 1994 *''The Best of CeDell Davis'' – 1995 *''The Horror Of It All'' – 1998 *''When Lightning Struck the Pine'' - 2002 *''Highway 61'' - 2003 *''Last Man Standing'' - 2015 *''Even The Devil Gets The Blues'' - 2016


Filmography

* ''Blues Back Home'' (1984)


See also

*
List of Delta blues musicians The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from north to south between Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and from east to west be ...
*
List of polio survivors Poliomyelitis (often simply called polio) is an acute viral infection that involves the gastrointestinal tract and occasionally the central nervous system. Poliovirus is acquired by faecal–oral or oral transmission. Prior to the introduction ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Cedell 1926 births 2017 deaths Delta blues musicians Electric blues musicians Blues rock musicians Contemporary blues musicians American blues guitarists African-American male guitarists Guitarists from Arkansas Fat Possum Records artists Slide guitarists People with polio 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists People from Helena, Alabama 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians