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REVEREND
GARY DAVIS
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It was there that he met and taught
a younger guitarist named Fulton Allen, who would later make a name for himself as
Blind
Boy Fuller.
In the early thirties, Davis converted to Christianity, eventually becoming
ordained as a Baptist minister. He would mix blues and gospel, playing at
revivals and at lumber camps. The vocals on his blues numbers sounded
straight out of church, while his finger picking gave his spirituals
a bluesy
feel.
In 1935, Davis went with Fuller to New York to record for the American
Record Company.
By the end of the 1950's, Davis was sufficiently well-known that he became a major figure of the growing folk music revival. He played the major festivals being one of the most in-demand bluesmen before the men from Mississippi were rediscovered in the 1960's. In 1964 he toured England for the first time playing gigs at mainly small venues in the south. Davis continued to play until his death in 1972.
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