Rod Davis (musician)

Rodney Verso Davis (born 7 November 1941) is an English musician, best known for being a member of the Quarrymen, a band who would later evolve into the Beatles.

The Quarrymen

1957–1961

Davis was born in Smithdown Hospital, Sefton, Liverpool. Davis played in a jazz trio whilst at school with Gerald Greenwood (piano) and Les Brough (drums). Rod was attending Quarry Bank High School, when he was asked to join the Quarrymen in 1957, along with Colin Hanton, as their banjo player:

The group, consisting of John Lennon, Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton, Len Garry, Colin Hanton, and Davis, formed the first stable line-up of the group. Davis' tenure with the group was short, and he and Pete Shotton, left in August 1957, feeling that the group was moving away from skiffle and towards rock, leaving their instruments superfluous.

Davis would make a record in 1961 as part of a band called the Trad Grads, by which time he played mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar, concertina, and melodeon. In a 1997 issue of Record Collector, he said that when he told Lennon about this in early 1962, Lennon "said, 'You don't play the drums, do you? We need a drummer to take back to Hamburg.'" Davis, who had gone on to attend Cambridge University, declined Lennon’s offer, allowing the Beatles to recruit Pete Best. The two men lost contact after this.

1994–present

In 1997, Davis reunited with surviving members of the Quarrymen to perform a concert, to commemorate 40 years since the group's formation. They embarked on a tour which took place in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Japan, among many others. Davis has participated on all Quarrymen releases since; including their three albums; '' Get Back – Together'' (1997), '' Songs We Remember'' (2004), and ''Grey Album'' (2012). Their recent material primarily consists of rock and roll and skiffle songs from the 1950s.

Davis was portrayed by actor James Jack Bentham in the 2009 biopic ''Nowhere Boy''.

The Quarrymen performed in New York City, for what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday in 2010.

As of 2016, Davis still tours with founding member Colin Hanton and Len Garry.

Later life

In the 1960s, Davis played the mandolin and fiddle in numerous Bluegrass bands. In 1964, he played with the Bluegrass Ramblers. They would later appear on an episode of ''Opportunity Knocks''. Davis taught French and Spanish until 1968, when he took up a job as an expedition driver for a company called Minitrek Expeditions, taking trips to Russia, Turkey and across the Sahara desert.

Davis married in 1970. He and his wife settled in Hertfordshire, where both of their children were born. The couple divorced in 1982.

Davis worked for numerous different jobs in the travelling industry during his life, whilst also playing in a handful of different folk and bluegrass groups. Davis met his current partner, Janet, in the 1980s. Around that time, he started lecturing in Tourism at Uxbridge College. In 1996, he became a part-time lecturer at Brunel University. He retired in 2006.

Discography

With the Quarrymen

Studio albums

Live albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rod
1942 births
Living people
The Quarrymen members
Musicians from Liverpool
Skiffle musicians