Blind Willie Davis

Blind Willie Davis (c. 1890s–1930s) was an American blind gospel blues singer who recorded in the 1920s.^[1]

Davis recorded six sides for Paramount Records in 1928 and 1929.^[1] He sang solo and played slide guitar in a blues influenced style similar to that of Blind Willie Johnson. His material was strictly religious in nature and relied on reworkings of traditional hymns such as "Rock of Ages".^[1] He is noted for his versions of "When the Saints Go Marching In"^[1] and "I've Got a Key to the Kingdom", a song previously recorded by Washington Phillips and Bessie Johnson. Davis' version is radically reworked and stripped down to a powerful but simple slide guitar riff repeated at a fast tempo with the lyrics reduced to a basic chorus and apparently improvised lyrics.^{[citation needed]} He sang in an emotional and somewhat slurred voice.^{[citation needed]} Davis' other songs are of a similar nature although at a somewhat slower tempo and less intense pace.^{[citation needed]}

Davis is a mysterious figure about whom little is known. Research done by Gayle Dean Wardlow in 1966 named his home as Bude, Mississippi, a small town in the southwest of the state.^[1] He reportedly was reluctant to record fearing he would be required to play secular material.^{[citation needed]} He did not record again and his subsequent whereabouts and death are unknown. No photos of him are known to exist.

Davis' complete recorded works are available on Document Records.