{{short description|American electric blues musician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2014}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Boo Boo Davis | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = James Davis | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|11|04}} | birth_place = Drew, Mississippi, United States | death_date = | instrument = Vocals, harmonica, guitar, drums | genre = Electric blues | occupation = Musician, songwriter | years_active = 1950s–present | label = Black & Tan Records | website = {{url|booboodavis.com}} }}
'''James''' "'''Boo Boo'''" '''Davis''' (born November 4, 1943)<ref name="stlblues">{{cite web | url=http://www.stlblues.net/Davis1Bio.htm | title=Boo Boo Davis Bio | publisher=STLBLues | access-date=2011-06-23}}</ref> is an American electric blues musician. Davis is one of the few remaining blues musicians who gained experience singing the blues in the Mississippi Delta, having sung to help pass the time while picking the cotton fields.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.booboodavis.com/biography.html | title=Boo Boo Davis Bio | publisher=Black & Tan Records | access-date=2011-06-23 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906155651/http://www.booboodavis.com/biography.html | archive-date=September 6, 2011 }}</ref>
==Biography== ===Early life=== Davis was born in Drew, Mississippi, where he was raised in the heart of Mississippi Delta. Davis got the nickname Boo Boo from his father as a child; the name derives from his three uncles James, Boo-Jack and Davis.<ref name="kdhx">{{cite web | url=https://kdhx.org/articles/music-news/1598-boo-boo-davis-keeps-the-blues-alive-at-kdhxfest-2019 | title=Boo Boo Davis Keeps the Blues Alive at KDHXFest 2019 | publisher=KDHX| access-date=2020-05-15}}</ref> Davis's passion for music started at age five when his mother took him to church and he played the harmonica and sang.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.crossroads.nl/crossroads/artist/bbd.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010301172346/http://crossroads.nl/crossroads/artist/bbd.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2001-03-01 | title=Boo Boo Davis Bio | publisher=Crossroads | access-date=2011-06-23 }}</ref> Blues musicians such as John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Robert Pete Williams and Robert Petway visited the family home to rehearse blues songs with Davis' father, Sylvester Davis.<ref name="stlblues2">{{cite web | url=http://www.stlblues.net/bio_booboo.htm | title=Boo Boo Davis Bio | publisher=STLBLues | access-date=2020-08-01}}</ref><ref name="matters">{{cite web | url=https://bluesmatters.com/boo-boo-davis-european-tour-2020/?fbclid=IwAR0NF4YXiormlPpreAip1TwbmXtsOTCGpMINiM6JV1v4U7t2K21-SVH07vY | title=BOO BOO DAVIS European Tour 2020 | date=March 9, 2020 | publisher=Blues Matters!| access-date=2020-08-02}}</ref> When he was eighteen years old he began playing drums for the family band, Lard Can Band, because Davis did not possess a drum kit and was forced to play on a lard can. The band featured his multi-instrumental father, Sylvester Sr., his younger brother Sylvester Jr. on the guitar, and his sister Clara on vocals. The band played throughout the state of Mississippi, including a stint as the back up for B. B. King, who was unknown at the time.<ref name="stlblues" />
===Career=== Davis moved north in the early 1960s<ref name="stlblues2" /><ref name="matters" /> and played all around the Illinois area until his older brother brought him to St. Louis where he sang and played drums with Doc Terry.<ref name="stlblues" /><ref name="kdhx" /> After leaving Doc Terry's band, Davis started a band with Little Aaron who wrote the song, "East St. Louis", which later featured on Davis's album of the same name.<ref name="stlblues" /> Davis and Aaron backed up several blues legends such as Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Milton and Elmore James.<ref name="stlblues" />
In 1972, Davis formed another family band called the Davis Brothers Band which played twice a week at a club in East St. Louis, Tabby's Red Room, for 18 years.<ref name="stlblues" />
In 1999, Davis appeared on Arthur Williams' album ''Harpin' On It''.<ref name="stlblues" /> In September of the same year he made his solo recording debut with Netherlands-based label Black and Tan Records.<ref name="stlblues" /> He made his first tour of Europe in 2000, performing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and the UK.<ref name="stlblues" /> While in the UK, he recorded music for a BBC radio show hosted by The Blues Band's Paul Jones.<ref name="stlblues" />
Davis's fourth album ''Drew, Mississippi'' (produced and co-written by British guitarist Ramon Goose) featured in the top 10 blues albums of 2006 according to ''Mojo''.<ref name="matters" /> In 2007, Davis performed live on Canadian national radio station CBC Radio One.<ref name="matters" />
Davis's song "I'm So Tired", was used in a television commercial for 5-Hour Energy and an episode of ''Sons of Anarchy''.
==Discography== ===Albums=== *''East St. Louis'' (1999) *''Can Man'' (2002) *''The Snake'' (2004) *''Drew, Mississippi'' (2006) *''Name of the Game'' (2008) *''Ain't Gotta Dime'' (2009) *''Undercover Blues'' (2011) *''What Kind of Shit Is This?'' (2014) *''Oldskool'' (2015) *''One Chord Blues'' (2016) *''Tree Man'' (2019) *''Boo Boo Boogaloo'' (2023)
===Compilation albums=== *''Keeping Music Alive'' (2005) *''Black & Tan Sampler, Vol. 2'' (2007)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Boo Boo}} Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:American blues drummers Category:American blues singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:American male singers Category:American blues harmonica players Category:St. Louis blues musicians Category:Songwriters from Mississippi Category:Blues musicians from Mississippi Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Guitarists from Mississippi Category:People from Drew, Mississippi Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male songwriters