Say No to the Devil (Paperback)

Paperback. Who was the greatest of all American guitarists? You probably didnt name Gary Davis, but many of his musical contemporaries considered him without peer. Bob Dylan called Davis one of the wizards of modern music. Bob Weir of the Grateful Deadwho took lessons with Davisclaimed his musical ability transcended any common notion of a bluesman. And the folklorist Alan Lomax called him one of the really great geniuses of American instrumental music. But you wont find Davis alongside blues legends Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite almost universal renown among his contemporaries, Davis lives today not so much in his own work but through covers of his songs by Dylan, Jackson Browne, and many others, as well as in the untold number of students whose lives he influenced. The first biography of Davis, Say No to the Devil restores the Revs remarkable story. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with many of Daviss former students, Ian Zack takes readers through Daviss difficult beginning as the blind son of sharecroppers in the Jim Crow South to his decision to become an ordained Baptist minister and his move to New York in the early 1940s, where he scraped out a living singing and preaching on street corners and in storefront churches in Harlem. There, he gained entry into a circle of musicians that included, among many others, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and Dave Van Ronk. But in spite of his tremendous musical achievements, Davis never gained broad recognition from an American public that wasnt sure what to make of his trademark blend of gospel, ragtime, street preaching, and the blues. His personal life was also fraught, troubled by struggles with alcohol, women, and deteriorating health. Zack chronicles this remarkable figure in American music, helping us to understand how he taught and influenced a generation of musicians. Although the Reverend Gary Davis was one of the greatest blues and ragtime guitarists of the twentieth century, he has not yet received the widespread recognition that contemporaries such as Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson have been able to attain. This is not to say that "the Rev," as he was known, was underappreciated by the musicians he influenced or taught. Bob Dylan called him "one of the wizards of modern music," while his one-time students, musicians Stefan Grossman and David Bromberg, are still teaching his musical techniques. Say No to the Devil brilliantly recounts the life and musical career of Reverend Gary Davis, from his harrowing beginnings as the blind son of sharecroppers, to his time as one of the virtuosos of the New York 1950s and '60s folk scene. Davis possessed stunning guitar technique, and his incredibly versatile repertoire embraced blues, gospel, minstrel tunes, ragtime, bluegrass, and early jazz. Leaving South Carolina an ordained Baptist minister, Davis came to New York in 1951, where he sang and preached for nickels and dimes on street corners and in storefront churches in Harlem and around the city. Drawing on his conversations with figures from the Folk Revival in New York and Cambridge, Zack chronicles Davis's entry into a circle of musicians that included Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, and Dave van Ronk. His music and virtuosity finally began to become known both here and in England; Davis played at the Newport Folk Festival. But his late career as a concert performer also coincided with increasing problems with alcohol, women, and deteriorating health. The eminent folklorist, Alan Lomax called Davis "one of the really great geniuses of American instrumental music." Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…