Don Davis

A bit about Black Rock Bands out of Detroit.

This weekend at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, I caught a documentary about Death, a 1970s all-black proto-punk band out of Detroit. The documentary, titled “A Band Called Death” chronicled the group’s forming, brush with success, and descent into obscurity. The master tapes of their sole album, recorded under Don Davis’ Groovesville productions languished…

July 1, 2013

ayanacontreras

Arts & Culture, Chicago Cultural History, Film and Television, Music, Reviews, the Freshness

Band Called Death, Black Merda, Blues, Chess Records, Chicago, Death, Detroit, Don Davis, Eddie Hazel, Funkadelic, Morris Jennings, Muddy Waters, Music Box Theatre, New York Times
The Mighty Mighty Dells: i miss you.

I love the Dells. Formed in 1952, their career is simply epic. But my favorite period for them was ushered in with Charles Stepney. Unfortunately, as Chess Records (their label from the mid-sixties till the mid-seventies) crumbled, their hits (which include “There Is”, “Stay in my Corner”, “The Love We Had Stays on My Mind”,…

January 16, 2011

ayanacontreras

Local Chicago Music, Music

Cadet Records, Charles Stepney, Chess Records, Don Davis, Local Chicago Soul, Marvin Junior, The Dells, Tony Hester