A Welsh guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist,
Spencer Davis became one of the elder statesmen of mid-'60s British rock. As part of the
Spencer Davis Band, which formed in Birmingham in 1963,
Davis scored chart-topping hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me" in the U.K. and a pair of Top Ten singles, "Gimme Good Lovin'" and "I'm a Man," in the United States. The band -- which also featured a teenaged
Stevie Winwood on vocals, guitar, and organ,
Muff Winwood (
Stevie's brother) on bass, and
Pete York on drums -- continued to mix commercial pop tunes and blues-inspired R&B until the Winwoods departed in 1967. Inspired by American blues musicians, including
Leadbelly and
Muddy Waters,
Davis left a career as a college English professor to form the
Rhythm & Blues Quartet. After performing a series of gigs at Birmingham nightclub, the Golden Eagle Pub, the group became the club's resident band. Soon after adding regular Tuesday night sessions at the Marquee in London to their schedule, they changed their name to the
Spencer Davis Group.
Although he briefly kept the band together following the departure of the Winwood siblings and recorded two minor hits, "Mr. Second Class" and "Time Seller,"
Davis disbanded the group. After a short stint playing alongside guitarist
Alun Davies, he then moved to California in 1970. Remaining active as a musician, he recorded a solo album that quickly went out of print, formed a new blues-pop band called Davis, York, Hardin & Fenwick in 1973, and then launched an acoustic blues band with
Richard Landis and Peter Jameson. For much of the remainder of the '70s and early '80s,
Davis worked behind the scenes. After serving as a consultant for a California video company, he worked as an independent producer and publicist for Island Records, where he helped to guide the early careers of
Robert Palmer and
Bob Marley, and served as head of A&R for a small Hollywood-based independent label. In addition to recording an impressive solo album, Crossfire, featuring guest appearances by
Dusty Springfield,
Flo & Eddie, and
Booker T. Jones, he produced the Spokane, Washington-based group
USK and Canada's
Downchild Blues Band.
Forming a new version of the
Spencer Davis Group in 1984,
Davis toured throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. By 1987, the group averaged more than 100 shows a year.
Davis appeared as a guest during concerts by the
Grateful Dead,
Gary U.S. Bonds,
Levon Helm,
Bruce Springsteen,
Peter "Herman" Noone,
Downchild, and
Alvin Lee.
Joining with ex-
Iron Butterfly and
Blues Image guitarist/vocalist
Mike Pinera, ex-
Rare Earth drummer/vocalist Peter Rivera, and ex-
Sugarloaf bassist/vocalist
Jerry Corbetta,
Davis formed the Classic Rock All Stars in 1993. During the two years that he worked with the group,
Davis was featured on an album, Double Live, and performed in North America and Japan.
Davis' original songs were featured in such films as Iron Eagle, The Big Chill, Mr. Destiny,
Days of Thunder, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Notting Hill. He recorded numerous advertising jingles in the mid-'90s and appeared as himself in an episode of the TV comedy Married with Children. The following decade saw him continuing to record new material, and the solo effort So Far was issued in 2008.
Spencer Davis died in Los Angeles on October 19, 2020, at the age of 81. The cause of death was pneumonia. ~ Craig Harris