Rue Davis (21st Century)
Daddy B. Nice's #33 ranked Southern Soul Artist
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Rue Davis (21st Century)Daddy B. Nice's #33 ranked Southern Soul Artist |
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"I'm Giving Up The Streets" Rue Davis (21st Century) Composed by Rue Davis July 22, 2018: New Album Alert!Sample/Buy RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION at Amazon. RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION Track List 1
Big Hip Woman 2 My Honey Poo 3 In Love with the Girl Next Door 4 I Be Your Shoulder to Cry On 5 I Can't Help Myself 6 Somebody 7 Your Love Devine 8 Tell Me What You Want 9 Looking for the Real Thang 10 Candy Sweet 11 Thanks for Saving Your Love 12 I'm Giving up the Streets 13 Your Man 14 I Promise Daddy B. Nice notes:One of southern soul's more obscure veterans comes in for his first "best-of" collection in RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION. "Honey Poo," "Big Hip Woman," "Candy Sweet" and "I'm Giving Up The Streets" all appear, although "Take Me Back To Farish Street," Davis' nostalgic ode to Jackson, Mississippi, is absent. This collection illuminates how much Z.Z. Hill influenced Rue Davis's vocal style. If you're looking for Sir Charles Jones or Tucka-like sex appeal, Rue Davis isn't your thing. But if you're drawn to southern soul balladry of an unpretentious, traditional and authentic sort, you've found your recording artist. Listen to Rue Davis singing "My Honey Poo" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "I'm Giving Up The Streets" on YouTube. Listen to all the cuts from RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION on YouTube. Sample/Buy RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION at Amazon. Buy RUE DAVIS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION at iTunes. ********** Note: Rue Davis also appears on Daddy B. Nice's original Top 100 Southern Soul Artists (90's-00's). The "21st Century" after Rue Davis' name in the headline is to distinguish his artist-guide entries on this page from his artist-guide page on Daddy B. Nice's original chart. *********** 
*********** To automatically link to Rue Davis' charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations on the website, go to "Davis, Rue" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index. *********** Listen to Rue Davis singing "I'm Giving Up The Streets" on YouTube. Daddy B. Nice's Updated Profile: With small printings on minor independent labels, Rue Davis' music remains one of the most obscure of any singer/songwriter in Southern Soul. Davis is one of that hardy band of Texas performers--among them Buddy Ace, R. L. Griffin, Carl Marshall, Little Buck, Gregg A. Smith, Lil' Jimmie, Lady Audrey & The Superior Band, Jabo, Captain Jack Watson and Larry Shannon Hargrove--who in one way or another trace their musical bloodlines back to Texas' contemporary blues master Z.Z. Hill.
All of them pledge their musical fealty to the Southern Soul of the Mississippi Delta and the old-school R&B traditions of Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis--none more so than Rue Davis--and yet their work has more often than not remained invisible or even unavailable to the typical Southern Soul fan. Only Mel Waiters (from San Antonio) has truly broken out to become a quasi-national star. Of all the other musicians cited, Rue Davis (still in middle-age) should hold the most allure for fans craving first-rate vocals and exceptional songwriting. The recordings themselves, although artfully arranged, are nothing to write home about. Blues purists who only want to listen to the same blues riffs honed to the most sophisticated level of technique and production need not apply. Rue Davis's work takes your Daddy B. Nice back to the early days (late nineties, turn-of-the-century) while traveling around Mississipi and the Gulf Coast, picking up the sounds of Southern Soul for the first time. The music had a programmed sound, but that didn't bother me because I was coming from a background in disco and funk and rap, where it was common. In fact, the word "programmed" didn't even occur to me. I had a vague mental association between the poverty of this section of the country and the corresponding limitations to production. But none of that mattered because the "guts" of the music was so fresh, pure and original. Here was real soul music, rediscovered, and I never looked back twice in choosing the "lite" production in order to get to the soulful songs and the genuine soul singing. (And to this day I just shake my head and feel sorry for the blues fans in socks and sandals fixated on technique and blues liturgy.) Rue Davis, as you get to know him, is like that. For years "Honey Poo" was one of the few Davis songs to get any airplay. It's a fairly light, almost minimalist number, even for Davis. For the "real instrument" purist, the horns are the most obvious snag. And "Honey Poo" is such a humble, aw-shucks, "don't-notice-me" type of song it doesn't hint at the scope and sophistication of Rue Davis' overall catalog. Recently, however--and in particular with the dawn of YouTube, where Rue Davis is surprisingly well-represented--the typical Southern Soul fan can hear Rue Davis singing full-length songs for the first time ever. The tracks memorialize a flawless soul singer at the peak of his powers. Listening to this outpouring of new (although old) Rue Davis material on YouTube is like listening to a great new artist for the first time. (Scroll down to Tidbits #1 to link to Rue Davis' YouTube offerings.) The only sobering thought in hearing these masterfully-sung tunes is that there are so few albums, a half-dozen or so, for more than half a lifetime of work. The songs whet the appetite for more. Return Of The Legend, Davis' last album (Boom Town, 2008) is already four years old and out of print as this is being written in 2012. Return Of The Legend did not, to be frank, get much airplay when it came out. In retrospect, the collection is a veritable primer of Southern Soul. Dallas-based producer Carl Marshall does some of his finest background tracks ever. Fans who know him only from his more overbearing style on CDS-produced CD's will marvel at his tasteful and near-invisible handiwork here. Davis is an arranger with few peers himself. Songs like "So Glad You're Mine" boast atmospheric-strings, Brian Eno-ish effects painted with the utmost delicacy; if he were a painter, Rue Davis would be a water-colorist. The YouTube offerings span all the albums Rue Davis has birthed since his debut in the mid-nineties, and the seasoned quality of an artist fully arrived is remarkably consistent. Rue's vocal style is as nuanced as Willie Clayton, and the female background singing is always a delight, adding color and texture. The songs are substantial and the arrangements are frequently inspired. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Take Me Back To Farish Street" on YouTube. With his ear for great melodies, his impeccable stylishness and timing, Rue Davis may bear more similarities to the late, great Johnnie Taylor than anyone alive today, including JT's many performing sons, and it's fervently hoped here that he finds the means to continue recording. What this YouTube treasure trove of new, available Rue Davis material signifies is the presence in our midst of humble new star. Your Daddy B. Nice recommends readers to ALL of the YouTube links (something I wouldn't normal do) to the artist's work in the "Tidbits" section (scroll down) and to the sound samples in the "Recommended Tracks" (right-hand column). There's hardly a miss in all the selections. What I like best about Rue Davis is that, whatever you think of him, he defines that sweet spot--that middle spot--of the Southern Soul sound, a sound that with the onrush of new young artists has become, in truth, a bit hard to find, a bit endangered. It's the sound of Johnnie Taylor, of Frank Mendenhall, of Quinn Golden, of Lee "Shot" Williams. It's the sound anyone who loves Southern Soul doesn't want to hear die. --Daddy B. Nice About Rue Davis (21st Century) Rue Davis was born in Houston, Texas on June 24, 1955. His adopted mother, the gospel singer Ella Mae Davis, was his greatest childhood influence, and Rue became a child soloist for the Allen Gospel Singers.
Song's Transcendent Moment "She's the kind of woman
Tidbits 1.July 15, 2012: YouTube offerings for Rue Davis:..........Updated May 1, 2016 Listen to Rue Davis singing "I Believe In You" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Set You Free" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Put Your Love Down On Me" (the official video) on YouTube. Listen to an intimate session with Rue Davis singing "Somebody Wants You" live on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "I Believe In You," "Giving Up The Streets" and "I Wanna Be Loved" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "When I Was Sad" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Somebody Wants You," "Candy Sweet" and "Tell Me When The Last Time" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Your Love Divine" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Perfect Combination" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Honey Poo" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Shelia The Wonder Girl" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Heaven Has Sent Me Your Love" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Take Me Back To Farish Street" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Treat Her Like A Queen" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Big Hip Woman" on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "You Knew What You Had" on YouTube. ************* 2.July 14, 2012:Want to hear someone heavily influenced by Rue Davis? Listen to The Rhythm All-Stars (with Geoff McBride) performing "I'll Work For You." Go to Daddy B. Nice's original artist guide to Rue Davis (90's-00's). 3.May 1, 2016: NEW ALBUM ALERT
Sample/Buy Rue Davis's BIG HIP WOMAN CD at CD Baby. Sample/Buy Rue Davis's BIG HIP WOMAN at iTunes. See Daddy B. Nice's upcoming Southern Soul Singles Preview for May 2016. Listen to Rue Davis singing "Big Hip Woman" (from the new album) on YouTube. Listen to Rue Davis singing "You Knew What You Had" (from the new album) on YouTube. If You Liked. . . You'll Love If you liked Tyrone Davis' "I'm Leavin' (On The First Train Smokin'), you'll love Rue Davis' "I'm Giving Up The Streets." Honorary "B" Side "Take Me Back To Farish Street" |
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