# Boo Boo Davis

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{{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](/source/Drew%2C_Mississippi), United States
| death_date      =
| instrument      = Vocals, harmonica, guitar, drums
| genre           = [Electric blues](/source/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](/source/electric_blues) musician. Davis is one of the few remaining blues musicians who gained experience singing the blues in the [Mississippi Delta](/source/Mississippi_Delta), having sung to help pass the time while picking the cotton [fields](/source/field_(agriculture)).<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](/source/Drew%2C_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](/source/John_Lee_Hooker), [Elmore James](/source/Elmore_James), [Robert Pete Williams](/source/Robert_Pete_Williams) and [Robert Petway](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Illinois) area until his older brother brought him to [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis) where he sang and played drums with [Doc Terry](/source/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](/source/Little_Walter), [Sonny Boy Williamson](/source/Sonny_Boy_Williamson_II), [Little Milton](/source/Little_Milton) and [Elmore James](/source/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](/source/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](/source/BBC) radio show hosted by [The Blues Band](/source/The_Blues_Band)'s [Paul Jones](/source/Paul_Jones_(singer)).<ref name="stlblues" />

Davis's fourth album ''Drew, Mississippi'' (produced and co-written by British guitarist [Ramon Goose](/source/Ramon_Goose)) featured in the top 10 blues albums of 2006 according to ''[Mojo](/source/Mojo_(magazine))''.<ref name="matters" /> In 2007, Davis performed live on [Canadian](/source/Canada) national radio station [CBC Radio One](/source/CBC_Radio_One).<ref name="matters" />

Davis's song "I'm So Tired", was used in a television commercial for [5-Hour Energy](/source/5-Hour_Energy) and an episode of ''[Sons of Anarchy](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boo Boo Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo_Boo_Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo_Boo_Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.