Chicago Soul Man Tyrone Davis Dies
Published February 10, 2005
Although I was just a kid, I was a pretty serious student of Top 40 radio from the mid-'60s until I "graduated" to "progressive rock" radio in the early'-70s, which I realize in retrospect actually narrowed my tastes for a time.
But I remember ever so vividly being blown away by both of Tyrone Davis's smash pop and R&B hits "Can I Change My Mind" ('68) and "Turn Back the Hands of Time" ('70), the smooth but undeniable groove, the earthy gentle voice oozing regret but not giving up on the possibility of renewal, just classic.
Davis died yesterday at 66. Greg Kot has a fine tribute in the Chicago Tribune:
- Whether they know it or not, many of today's soul crooners take their cues from Davis, who forged one of the more distinctive personas in rhythm and blues during the last five decades.
He was a suave smoothie who sang about relationships with a mixture of wisdom and regret.
He not only helped define the sound of Chicago soul in the 1960s and '70s in the wake of Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler and Gene Chandler, he continued to record and tour until he suffered a stroke last September.
....Davis' hits, including "Turn Back the Hands of Time," "Can I Change My Mind" and "Turning Point," reflected a dark, nearly whispered perspective on relationships that endeared him to the black working-class community for decades.
By 1971, Davis was a star, riding a couple of top 10 hits.
"He was like Mr. Chicago," singer Willie Clayton once told the Tribune.
"It was a thrill to be around and see the fancy cars; you name it, he had it."
Val Kashimura, an R&B singer and executive at Davis' Mississippi-based label, Malaco Records, called Davis "one of the big dogs in our line of work."
"They used to call Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. the `Rat Pack,'" Kashimura said. "Well, I used to call Tyrone Davis, Bobby Bland, Johnny Taylor and Little Milton the `Four Pack,' because they were the godfathers of R&B and blues for a couple generations of artists."
Davis was born in Greenville, Miss. But by age 19, he was in Chicago and forged relationships with such contemporaries as Otis Clay, Mighty Joe Young and Otis Rush.
....Davis in the role of the penitent gentleman in a brightly colored tuxedo established a sound that distinguished him from more strident soul contemporaries such as Clay and Taylor.
"He was the ladies' man," said Graham, who also worked as Davis' producer, songwriter and guitarist.
"He tried to put messages in his songs, and he found a niche that no else had."
As popular taste changed, Davis adapted by recording songs such as "Get on Up (Disco)," but he never veered from his becalmed yet sensual perspective.
By the time he started recording for Malaco in the 1990s, he had become a respected elder statesman on the blues and R&B circuit.
"We used to call him `Daddy' because he was the wise one, someone who all the other artists on the label looked up to," Kashimura said.
His records continued to sell to black audiences, and he was regularly booked for weekend concerts until the stroke silenced him.
Davis is survived by his wife, Ann, and numerous children and grandchildren. Funeral services are pending.
Also of interest is an Internet chat Davis held on the Soul Patrol site.
- Chicago Soul Man Tyrone Davis Dies
- Published: February 10, 2005
- Type:
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: News, Music: R&B
- Writer: Eric Olsen
- Eric Olsen's BC Writer page
- Eric Olsen's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
thanks Wally, it's a bad bad week, and we missed Jim Capaldi dying last week. I've got to get back to him as well.
Wan'ted you all to know that I am keeping you in my prayers. Sending love and the deepest sympathy.
Love Always,
Erma
Port Allen, La
i'm sorry about the passing of t.d. he was a lady's man .we all loved his here in tylertown ,ms.
I'll miss tyrone davis,he is from back in the year when i was in hi school,this music bring back memory,of long ago.don't have nothing to do with todays music,in those days to listern to it ,it says something about life.and the love of life,love you wanted to share with someone.SO TYRONE TAKE YOUR REST YOU HAVE FAUGHT A GOOD FIGHT,SO FAMILY YOU IN MY PRAYER.IT IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT,GOD IS GOING TO MAKE IT ALRIGHT.
My first vinyl record was his hit song "turning point" i bought in the 1970s in Jamaica. It was only last year a friend got me a copy of his 20 greatest hits. Tyrone was a great singer at his craft. My condolences goes to his family.
From Rupert in Jamaica, West Indies
really great to hear from so many fans of Tyrone - thanks for sharing
i was very surprised when i heard about t.d. dying. cause a couple months ago they were saying on the radio, that he had died but it was misimformation. BUT HE WILL B MISSED.i had the chance 2 meet him once nice guy.
I WAS A YOUNG MAN ABOUT 24, WHEN I DJ'ED IN BETWEEN ACT'S AT A LIVE BLUES SHOW STARRING TYRONE, IT WAS MY FIRST SHOW I EVER PLAYED IN FRONT OF SUCH A LARGE REVUE.HE TOUCHED ME THEN AND IT HURT'S MY HEART TO KNOW HE'S GONE .
ALL I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO TYRONE IS
"I'LL ALWAY'S LOVE" WHICH COMES FROM ONE OF HIS GREATEST HIT'S. EVERY TIME I HEAR THIS SONG IT WILL FOREVER REMIND ME OF ONE OF BLUES FAVORITE GENTLEMEN.........TYRONE DAVIS A.K.A. T.D.
P.S. I GUESS THE WRONG DO'ERS WILL FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO PICK ON! LOL
I LOVE YOU ...
I"LL MISS YOU
MASTER JOCK
I was one of the fortunate ones to hear Mr. Tyrone Davis in concert for the last time. The people of Mobile,Al. is really going to miss him.To the family God Bless and keep you. Mr. Tyrone I LOVE YOU AND GOING TO MISS YOU.
these tributes are very touching, deeper than most
Beyond Tyrone Davis's chart success and
his popularity back in the late 1960's
& early to mid 1970's when he began his
run of hit singles,Tyrone remained very
popular with black audiences and a major
draw to the end of his career, mainly on
on the "Chittlin'Circuit" club scene.
To this day, I have yet to walk into any
mainly Black owned/operated/patronized
Blues bar w/o finding Tyrone on the juke
therein. While his main strength was his
Soul/R & B tunes,he could belt some mean
slow grinding Blues with the best of 'em
anywhere,any time.
Re-issues of his 1st and 2nd LP's "Can I
Change My Mind" and "Turn Back The Hands
Of Time", respectively, are to be had on
both vinyl and compost disc.
Try "www.dustygrooveamerica" if you are
at all interested.It's a great store in
Chicago I order from frequently and they
they have all kinds of other cool Soul/
Funk/Jazz/Reggae/Latin/Hip-Hop/Soundtrax
as well.
cool HW, of course you would know all that
I don think anyone else can say that they cared more of Tyrone Davis's work than I because I lived to hear his voice everyday of my life, I knew him from Chicago, and I have all of his work. C Murry
I would say that level of commitment would be hard to beat!
c. Murry again Tyrone Davis had a style about himself that other men would love to have also,the ability to make a living doing what GOD gave him to work with a voice and the love of peopel trying to make them happy and feel good about themself if only if it was the time of a show, I know what I want to say GOD GAVE IS TYRONE DAVIS, SO LET'S THANK GOD FOR HIM. AMAN
sorry about the words being spelled wrong it was trying to type to fast
thanks C! no problem, your meaning is clear and powerful
I AM VERY DEEPLY SADDEN ABOUT MR.TYRONE .HE WILL BE MISSED.I HAVE PLENTY OF HIS MUSIC, AND I REALLY IN TRULY LOVED HIM.MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
my family andi enjoyed tyrones music we will miss him we are praying for you and your family god is stand by. god bless you
I simply loved this man for he was one of those great singers of my day. This man could move one as no other could with his finess and sultry voice. There has been one other singer who was absolutely my very own favorite and that was Marvin Gaye. I will always and forever remember these guys through their music and that magnificant style. I have Tryone Davis music during the late sixties and early seventies as well as Marvin Gayes music and I will treasure it forever. He will be greatly missed. Yet, we all have to face the same at some point as well.
Tyrone Davis was the man. I remember when I was a kid in Lake Charles, La. and he use to always come to this club, Ball Auditourum, the hottest spot back in the day. I could always hear him out side, was only 12 or 13 at the time. This was 35 or so years ago. Another good singer, gone. We all must go this way and he will be missed.
Payback
Tyrone Ddavis will be greatly missed by all of his friends and that we all share in sadness. I will never forget him. My favorite records by him is " Can I change my mind" and " I'll always love you"
From 1965 in Wareham Mass.to North Carolina USMarine Corps,to California USMC,to Viet-Nam and Back to Wareham,New Bedford and a special time in Martha's Vineyard Tyrone Davis was there to remind me of LOVE AND REGRET!I wish I had meet him.To his wife children and family thanks for sharing a great person with the world.God Bless.'Turn Back the Hands os Time.With Love and Regret, Buddy Andrade.
thanks Buddy, it's great to see Tyrone get so much love
You will be missed by all of your fans and relatives. I send my sympathy to all of the family.
Vera Mae; good-by cuz.
Like many of you I grew up listening to Tyrone on the southside of Chicago. I am privileged that he picked me as the poet to write and perform the intro on his final album "The Legendary Hall of Famer". Thanks to T.D. for allowing me to get it started. I couldn't believe someone with a name like his chose a newcomer like me. bigPEACES Tyrone
For 15 years I have been doing a 2 hour tribute to T.D. for his birthday. This year it will be Saturday May 6, 2006 around 3pm central time. That's 2 hours of TDs music. Listen live on the web at www.oldies925.com click on ''The Danny Poullard Show'' then click the ''Listen Live'' button. Enjoy...
ill always miss u still loving all those songs rip
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I'm going to stop coming to the library to check Blogcritics.org. Everytime I do I read about another legend dying. I'll be glad when I go back to work next work next week, maybe it'll save some lives. First Jimmy Smith and now Tyrone Davis, this week is turning into a big bummer music wise. I wonder if the Grammys will pay tribute to either man? I'm sure they can't cut into Eminem's time or what other lame acts will be on. When I started working at a used record store years ago and I asked what the best soul CD was in the store, one of the guys handed me a Tyrone Davis CD and said "if you never listen to anybody else, listen to this man." Which blew me away since I figured Otis Redding was the top of the mountain, but one listen to Tyrone's smooth voice convinced me otherwise.