Jesse Ed Davis article

Very interesting article about Jesse Ed Davis, a forgotten guitar hero. He played with Taj Mahal at the Rock and Roll Circus, with George Harrison and Eric Clapton at the Concert for Bangadesh, recorded with Harrison, John Lennon and Bob Dylan, and toured with Rod Stewart and the Faces. He was also considered to join the Stones back in the 70s. The book mentioned here, "Washita Love Child" by Douglas Miller, is fascinating. Unfortunately, Jesse Ed Davis undermined himself with his drug problems and eventually succumbed to them and died early. What a loss...

Don't forget LA Friday, where he also guested on SFTD.

Read this a few days ago. A great read.

Thanks roundnround for posting this article about Jesse Ed. A story that should be heard. Great guitar player.

Thank you for sharing. I had not heard of him before.

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DandelionPowderman
Don't forget LA Friday, where he also guested on SFTD.

Read this a few days ago. A great read.

really
that jam is great
i always thought it was Ronnie
same with ycagwyw?

video: [youtu.be]

This is how I discovered Jessie Ed.
Love this solo.

Article is unfortunately not freely accessible.

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dead.flowers
Article is unfortunately not freely accessible.

Yup . Would love to read cause Jesse had an interesting career and a sad end. Its always good for him to get more recognition. When I auditioned for jazz band in my high school and was backup guitarist instead of main, I was really upset. My dad's "teachable" story was in Concert For Bangladesh (which I loved at that age), Jesse Ed Davis was the backup and hired on a few days notice because Clapton was MIA. Then when Clapton showed, Jesse was basically relegated to just another guitar player in the background, almost didn't even need to be there anymore. But "he still got to play with two Beatles and Clapton."

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Whale

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DandelionPowderman
Don't forget LA Friday, where he also guested on SFTD.

Read this a few days ago. A great read.

really
that jam is great
i always thought it was Ronnie
same with ycagwyw?

YCAGWYW is Ronnie.

Here's a different article with a review of the book:

[www.houstonpress.com]

Jesse Ed Davis: Classic Rock's Super Sideman

Unless you’re a Classic Rock music nerd/liner note reader, the name Jesse Ed Davis is probably unfamiliar to your eyes. But you’ve definitely heard his guitar stylings.

That’s him ripping the searing electric solo on Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes.” That’s him strumming the lush, syncopated guitar intro on Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s the Night.” He plays lead on Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “Watching the River Flow.”

And that’s him in the background at the Concert for Bangla Desh: George Harrison had him as a safeguard in case a drug-addled Eric Clapton didn’t show up.

Now, Douglas K. Miller – a professor of history at Oklahoma State University, former musician, and author of other works on Native American History – tells the guitarist’s story in Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis (464 pp., $32.50, Liveright).

Throughout his career a sideman, Davis shared the concert stage and/or recording studio with Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, the Rolling Stones, all the Beatles sans Paul, Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton, Gene Clark and Rod Stewart.

Gregg Allman has gone on record saying that Davis’ slide guitar playing on the first Taj Mahal record directly influenced his brother Duane to take up the style and become one of its greatest practitioners. It was Davis' slide playing on "Statesboro Blues" which inspired him most, and soon the Allman Brothers Band would add the song to their own set list.
Davis always preferred to be known as a guitarist who happened to be Native American instead of a Native American guitarist. His ethnic background from multiple Indian tribes (mainly Comanche and Kiowa) gave him a striking visual look unlike any other Classic Rocker, but also opened him up to racism in and out of the music industry.

Davis turned frontman for three solo albums in the early ‘70s: ¡Jesse Davis! (which includes the autobiographical track that gives this bio its name), Ululu, and Keep Me Comin’. And while he had his limitations as a vocalist, each showcases his distinctive playing style, with a sound akin to The Band/Little Feat/Leon Russell/Dr. John.
And while he took great pride in his playing, he could also be dismissive of it. That “Doctor My Eyes” solo? Davis played it exactly once, with no rehearsal, and that’s what you hear on the record. It’s his most famous playing, yet for years he would badmouth it to anyone who’d listen.

He could also self-sabotage. Davis and most of his admirers considered Keep Me Comin’ the record that would finally break him as a solo artist. But after rejecting a cover featuring art that (again) would lean on hid Indigenous identity, he replaced it with a stern picture of himself, arms folded, against a backdrop of nudie magazine cut outs, barely airbrushed. Many outlets refused to carry it.
His music and his personal behavior would continue to get more erratic as his drug use – usually heroin – increased.

Still, his skills were in demand. He was in John Lennon’s band during the “Lost Weekend” and recordings of Rock and Roll and Walls and Bridges. He nearly stepped in as a Rolling Stone for a 1973 tour when Keith Richards’ legal issues almost prevented him from playing. He joined Rod Stewart and the Faces for a tour just as Stewart’s own star was rising.

In the last years of his life, Davis struggled. With addiction, with romantic relationships, multiple stints in rehab, and more blown opportunities. It wasn’t uncommon for friends to not hear from him for months, then get a call from the guitarist asking for money.
And while a stint in the band Grafitti Man [sic] fronted by the Indigenous poet John Trudell helped connect him with his heritage via their collaborative and esoteric music (Dylan was a great fan), it wasn’t enough to keep the proverbial bad spirits at bay.

Miller conducted scores of original interviews for the book, while using a treasure trove of archival materials, some provided by Davis’ own family. Throughout, his admiration and love for Davis and his music are evident, though his writing is honest about the darker episodes and behavior of his subject.

Jesse Ed Davis died in 1988 at the age of 43 when police found him slumped on the floor of an apartment complex laundry room, his body showing fresh evidence of heroin use. An ignoble end for the Oklahoma native whose admirers included so many titans of Classic Rock.

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Bob Ruggiero has been writing about music, books, visual arts and entertainment for the Houston Press since 1997, with an emphasis on classic rock. He used to have an incredible and luxurious mullet in college as well. He is the author of the band biography Slippin’ Out of Darkness: The Story of WAR.
Contact: Bob Ruggiero

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DandelionPowderman

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Whale

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DandelionPowderman
Don't forget LA Friday, where he also guested on SFTD.

Read this a few days ago. A great read.

really
that jam is great
i always thought it was Ronnie
same with ycagwyw?

YCAGWYW is Ronnie.

Just to be sure -both YCAGWYW and Sympathy is Ron Wood on lead guitar.

Jesse Ed Davis can be heard during the last two minutes of Sympathy, but his playing is just really awkward. He bends some notes, plucks some strings and that's really it. I guess the backstage sweets were taking his toll on Jesse.

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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DandelionPowderman

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Whale

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DandelionPowderman
Don't forget LA Friday, where he also guested on SFTD.

Read this a few days ago. A great read.

really
that jam is great
i always thought it was Ronnie
same with ycagwyw?

YCAGWYW is Ronnie.

Just to be sure -both YCAGWYW and Sympathy is Ron Wood on lead guitar.

Jesse Ed Davis can be heard during the last two minutes of Sympathy, but his playing is just really awkward. He bends some notes, plucks some strings and that's really it. I guess the backstage sweets were taking his toll on Jesse.

Mathijs

Indeed.

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DandelionPowderman

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Mathijs
Just to be sure -both YCAGWYW and Sympathy is Ron Wood on lead guitar.

Jesse Ed Davis can be heard during the last two minutes of Sympathy, but his playing is just really awkward. He bends some notes, plucks some strings and that's really it. I guess the backstage sweets were taking his toll on Jesse.

Mathijs

Indeed.

Not sure I'm listening to the same LA Friday, but I hear Jesse playing a full solo from the 5 minute mark. You can still hear Ronnie to the left and Keith on the right during that solo.

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RollingFreak

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dead.flowers
Article is unfortunately not freely accessible.

Yup . Would love to read cause Jesse had an interesting career and a sad end. Its always good for him to get more recognition. When I auditioned for jazz band in my high school and was backup guitarist instead of main, I was really upset. My dad's "teachable" story was in Concert For Bangladesh (which I loved at that age), Jesse Ed Davis was the backup and hired on a few days notice because Clapton was MIA. Then when Clapton showed, Jesse was basically relegated to just another guitar player in the background, almost didn't even need to be there anymore. But "he still got to play with two Beatles and Clapton."

here's the article without paywall

archive.ph

a clip about jesse from the documentary 'rumble the indians who rocked the world' (which is worth watching)

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ProfessorWolf

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RollingFreak

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dead.flowers
Article is unfortunately not freely accessible.

Yup . Would love to read cause Jesse had an interesting career and a sad end. Its always good for him to get more recognition. When I auditioned for jazz band in my high school and was backup guitarist instead of main, I was really upset. My dad's "teachable" story was in Concert For Bangladesh (which I loved at that age), Jesse Ed Davis was the backup and hired on a few days notice because Clapton was MIA. Then when Clapton showed, Jesse was basically relegated to just another guitar player in the background, almost didn't even need to be there anymore. But "he still got to play with two Beatles and Clapton."

here's the article without paywall

archive.ph

Clapton’ playingat the Concert for Bangladesh wasn’t great and he looked like a zombie due to his heavy heroin addiction.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-11-25 23:17 by Taylor1.

In "Washita Love Child", his biography of Jesse Ed Davis, Douglas Miller wrote this,

"In 1973, when Keith Richards was on the hook for a drug bust and possible prison time, Mick Jagger was prepared to call Jesse... "I think Keith's going down," Jagger predicted. "But it's alright. I've got Jesse Ed Davis with his bags packed in L.A. He can be here on the next plane." Taj Mahal remembers "a whole segment where... Mick Jagger says, quite plainly, if Keith had to really spend some time away from the band, the next call was to Jesse Davis."

I had not heard this story before... Apparently Mick had worked with Jesse on "Too Many Cooks", produced by John Lennon...

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skytrench

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DandelionPowderman

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Mathijs
Just to be sure -both YCAGWYW and Sympathy is Ron Wood on lead guitar.

Jesse Ed Davis can be heard during the last two minutes of Sympathy, but his playing is just really awkward. He bends some notes, plucks some strings and that's really it. I guess the backstage sweets were taking his toll on Jesse.

Mathijs

Indeed.

Not sure I'm listening to the same LA Friday, but I hear Jesse playing a full solo from the 5 minute mark. You can still hear Ronnie to the left and Keith on the right during that solo.

Keith played bass when they had guests (Clapton, Santana). Will listen again to hear if there are three guitars.

Too bad we got a different show on the dvd.

Guitar Player mag article about how The Concert for Bangla Desh line up came together...

[www.guitarplayer.com]

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roundnround
In "Washita Love Child", his biography of Jesse Ed Davis, Douglas Miller wrote this,

"In 1973, when Keith Richards was on the hook for a drug bust and possible prison time, Mick Jagger was prepared to call Jesse... "I think Keith's going down," Jagger predicted. "But it's alright. I've got Jesse Ed Davis with his bags packed in L.A. He can be here on the next plane." Taj Mahal remembers "a whole segment where... Mick Jagger says, quite plainly, if Keith had to really spend some time away from the band, the next call was to Jesse Davis."

I had not heard this story before... Apparently Mick had worked with Jesse on "Too Many Cooks", produced by John Lennon...

If Keith had heavy drug problems in 1973 why would he replace him with another heavy drug addict?Besides how do you replace Keith?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-11-27 01:29 by Taylor1.

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skytrench

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DandelionPowderman

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Mathijs
Just to be sure -both YCAGWYW and Sympathy is Ron Wood on lead guitar.

Jesse Ed Davis can be heard during the last two minutes of Sympathy, but his playing is just really awkward. He bends some notes, plucks some strings and that's really it. I guess the backstage sweets were taking his toll on Jesse.

Mathijs

Indeed.

Not sure I'm listening to the same LA Friday, but I hear Jesse playing a full solo from the 5 minute mark. You can still hear Ronnie to the left and Keith on the right during that solo.

Yes, that's what I mean, an awkward flurry of notes.

Jesse Ed Davis has always been an enigma to me -he was friends and played with the absolute biggest stars of his time, but I have no clue on how good he was. He's always fairly inaudible, and when you hear the rhythm playing is really nice, but mostly quite simple, accompanying stuff.

Mathijs



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-11-28 11:11 by Mathijs.