Have A Little (More) Faith by Rev. Gary Davis

10 Aug

Written by Mark Keresman
font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

The story of blues singer Reverend Gary Davis is the stuff of which indie documentaries are made. Born in South Carolina in 1896, Davis - who lost his sight as a child - migrated to NYC in the 30s where he earned a living playing guitar and singing on the streets of Harlem. Later on he found Religion and renounced Blues - but he didn’t forget the musical lessons of Blues and Ragtime. Davis’ singular, aggressively rhythmic guitar style influenced generations of guitarists, some of whom actually studied with the man: Blind Boy Fuller, Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder and Jorma Kaukonen (of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna fame). The folk/blues boom of the 1960s gave Davis’ musical career a second wind, bringing us to the second platter he recorded for Prestige’s Bluesville imprint in ’61. Regardless of your religious affiliation, Dear Reader, the 12 spiritually inclined selections included herein (over half of them Davis originals) feature full-bodied, astonishingly intricate acoustic guitar playing, infused with sly, gentle humor and spiritual fervor. Davis’ likeably gruff voice betrays some of the effects of time, but age had no dimming effect on his ability to play his guitar, which he approached with a dazzlingly Divine zeal.