Written by Gwendolyn Gordy (Berry's sister) and Roquel Davis

For no good reason this tune just popped into my head.
How's that for a vocal performance?



My heart is crying, crying.
Lonely teardrops
My pillow's never dry of...lonely teardrops

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Hey. it can't get any better. He definitely is classic entertainer that paved the way for many. Also, I understand that Jody Wately was his neice.
[Edited 9/4/04 13:35pm]

Hotlegs said:

Godchild.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

My pillow's never dryyyyy.. looooonely teardrops. come home come hooooommeee.. Good Gawd mr.excitement... jackie Wilson

theAudience said:

OOps. I stand corrected.

Oops!
[Edited 9/4/04 15:25pm]

UptownDeb said:

Come home


Come home.

In a sad related note.


http://www.theaustralian....02,00.html

Australian singer Kate Ceberano today paid tribute to American soul
music pioneer Billy Davis, who died today just weeks after producing
her latest album.

Davis, one of the creative minds behind the rise of American soul
music in the 1950s and 1960s, died in New York City today after a long
illness, aged 76.

With Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Davis co-wrote a number of
soul singer Jackie Wilson's early hits, including Reet Petite and
Lonely Teardrops.

He later joining famed Chicago blues record label Chess Records in
1961 as a producer, artist and repertoire director.

There he guided the careers of soul singers Etta James, Fontella Bass
and Billy Stewart, and penned songs for others including Aretha
Franklin, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, The Supremes and Gladys Knight.

His most recent project, as producer of Ceberano's latest album, 19
Days in New York, was completed only three weeks ago.

In a statement, Ceberano expressed her sadness at Davis' death.

"Today marks the passing of a legend in music," she said.

"I feel lucky to have been part of a project that will help preserve
an era when music really meant something.

"It wasn't about smoke and mirrors - it was just about the music.

"Thank you Billy for your gift to me and, more importantly, your gift
to that music."


BILLY DAVIS

Biography by Ed Hogan

Born Roquel Davis on July 11, 1937, in Detroit, MI, producer/songwriter Billy
Davis attended Northern High School (whose alumni includes legendary Motown
bassist James Jamerson), Wayne State University, and the Maurice King School of
Music. He began a singing career as a member of the Five Jets, who recorded for
Deluxe Records in 1953 and 1954. Some of the songs were some of Davis' first
published songs: the singles "Give In," "Please Love Me Baby," "I Am in Love"
b/w "Not a Hand to Shake," and "Crazy Chicken," plus the LP Five Jets Meet the
Guytones.

In 1956, he started working for Chess Records in nearby Chicago. One of his
first projects for the label was his group, the Four Aims, who later became the
Four Tops. He co-wrote the Moonglows' "See Saw" with Harry Pratt and Charles
Sutton, which hit number six R&B in fall 1956, and "A Kiss from Your Lips."
Moonglows leader Harvey Fuqua would later add Marvin Gaye to the group lineup
and co-wrote, with Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers, Diana Ross and the
Supremes' platinum single, "Someday We'll Be Together" (number one R&B for four
weeks, number one pop in late 1969). Under the pseudonym "Tyran Carlo," Davis
co-wrote hits for Brunswick Records star Jackie Wilson with Motown founder
Berry Gordy and his sister Gwen: "Reet Petite," "To Be Loved," "Lonely
Teardrops," "I'll Be Satisfied," "I'm Wanderin'," and "That's Why I Love You
So."

Around 1958, he founded Anna Records with Berry Gordy and Gwen. The label was
distributed by New York label End Records and later Chess Records. Anna's first
hit was Barrett Strong's "Money," which stayed at number two R&B for six weeks
in early 1960. In 1961, Leonard Chess started a Detroit label, Checkmate, and
hired Davis as the supervisor. The next year, Chess made Davis the head of A&R
and he moved to Chicago. Davis co-owned a music publishing company with Chess
whose name, Chevis, was a contraction of both their names. Davis is credited
for the label's '60s-era success, retaining previous A&R head Ralph Bass for
the label's blues and gospel roster. Davis enhanced Chess' writing and
arranging staff while snaring the city's best musicians. One of his finds was
arranger Phil Wright, a nightclub bandleader whose skills added rich,
orchestrated arrangements to the label's releases. Davis also found some of
Chess' best songwriting and production talent in groups already signed to the
label. Maurice McAlister and Leonard Caston were members of the Radiants who
scored a Chess hit with "Voice of Choice" in early 1965. Raynard Miner was a
member of the Gems (along with a pre-stardom Minnie Riperton). Minor brought
his frequent collaborator Carl Smith to the fold.

Around 1964, Phil Chess hired saxophonist Gene Barge as a staff producer and
musical director. The Chess rhythm section headed by Barge was one of the great
studio bands of the '60s/'70s soul music era and included drummer Maurice
White; bassist Louis Sattersfield; guitarists Gerald Sims, Pete Cosey, and
Bryce Robertson; organist Sonny Thompson; and pianists Leonard Caston and
Raynard Miner. Many had great post-Chess careers: Barge co-wrote and
co-produced '70s hits by Natalie Cole; White and Sattersfield were founding
members of '70s supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire. During a visit to the Chess
offices, label artist Mitty Collier overheard Caston playing a James Cleveland
record, "I Had a Talk With God Last Night," and had a idea for a secular song
along the same lines. Co-written by Davis and Chess staff pianist/producer
Leonard Caston, "I Had a Talk With Man" hit number three R&B on Cashbox
Magazine's R&B chart in fall 1964.

Davis' best-known production came in 1965 with Fontella Bass' "Rescue Me."
Co-produced by Davis and songwriters Miner and Smith and recorded on a weekend
in August 1965, "Rescue Me" b/w "Soul of the Man" stayed at number one R&B for
four weeks and number four pop in fall 1965. The track has been used in
numerous TV ad campaigns and movie and TV soundtracks. The trio also wrote the
follow-ups, "Recovery" and the A-side of the double-sided hit "I Can't Rest"
(the B-side was "I Surrender" (Davis/Shena De Mell/Sugar Pie De Santo). Bass'
final charting Chess single was Oliver Sain's "You'll Never Ever Know." That
same year, Davis produced the first Chess singles by the Dells ("Thinking About
You," "Run for Cover") after they returned to the label after having their last
hit for VeeJay Records, "Stay in My Corner." Other Chess sides include Little
Milton's "We're Gonna Make It" (Davis/Gene Barge/Raynard Miner/Carl Smith),
which parked at number one R&B for three weeks; the song was later covered by
Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows, B.B. King, and Rufus Thomas. Another Little
Milton single, "Who's Cheating Who" (Davis/Miner/Smith), hit number four R&B in
summer 1965. In 1968, Davis left Chess and the entire record business and began
working for the McCann Erickson Advertising Agency, having a successful career
as a jingles writer.

He traded Motown for Madison Avenue

April 24, 1983

BY JOANNE KAUFMAN
Free Press Special Writer

NEW YORK -- You may not know Billy Davis, but this ex- Detroiter has a tune you'll be hearing at least 300 times on television and radio during the next 12 months.

As senior vice-president and music director of McCann Erickson, the New York-based advertising agency, Davis composed Nabisco's new theme song ("Na-bis-co, you make a sunny side of life. Na-bis-co, so many pleasure you've made so nice ..."), and the three note musical signature, G-D-E.

It is hardly the first time Billy Davis had been called upon to plant a product name in the consciousness of the American consumer.

Since he came to McCann in 1968, this former Motowner has turned commercial melodies into platinum. You know them -- "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," a tricky little melody that turned into a platinum record for the New Seekers; that little jingle "Have a Coke and a Smile," and "I was Raised on Country Sunshine," another Coke-born hit.

BUT WHEN the 46-year-old Davis was a teenager singing tenor-baritone in do-wop groups on corners and under the streetlights of northwest Detroit, the pause that refreshed was not a slug of Coca-Cola. Pepsi was the beverage of choice because the financial burden of buying "The Real Thing" (yeah, Davis co-composed that jingle, too) required two to go in on the purchase. Now Davis drinks it daily.

"My career started early, singing on corners," he recalls from an office filled with Coca-Cola memorabilia. "All the do- wop groups were born during that era. There was a group for every neighborhood and talent shows every week. That's when my desire to become a singer got strong."

Like every other street corner kid, Davis wanted a recording contract. Though he was only interested in singing, a neighborhood music store owner, Joe Battle, encouraged him to write tunes as a way of making contact with record companies. Davis reluctantly complied, and Battle took it upon himself to send a fistful of Billy Davis compositions to a California record company. Several months later, back came a $356 check for a little ditty called "Lessie Mae."

"It changed my attitude toward writing," laughs Davis who had never before seen a check and wasn't even entirely sure what power it had. "That's what got me going seriously. I wrote three or four songs a day."

IN BETWEEN singing and composing, Davis was making a stab at Wayne State University classes, but a chance meeting with a guy named Berry Gordy sidelined his plans for higher education.

Finding much to admire in each other's work, Gordy and Davis joined forces to compose, arrange and produce bits like "Lonely Teardrops" for Davis' cousin Jackie Wilson. After a dispute with Wilson's people over money, the collaborators decided to become managers as well as composers and develop a stable of their own artists.

It was good thinking. One of the first groups they signed were the Miracles (the lead singer was Smokey Robinson), and Marv Johnson wasn't far behind.

It looked as if Davis was on his way to Motown fame. But in 1961, Davis left for the more established Chess Records where he produced songs for Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, the Dells, Etta James and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, Davis also wrote the Fontella Bass hit, "Rescue Me," which brought him to the attention of McCann Erickson.

"They were looking for someone to put Coke back in the minds of young people through music," explains Davis, who required intense persuading before agreeing to give New York a try and who now professes delight at the unexpected turn his career took.

From the Coke campaigns, Davis moved on to more caffeine (Nescafe) and then to the harder stuff as producer of the tune responsible for convincing millions that the time to relax is Miller Time.

BUT NOTHING, not Miller, not Motown, has been as unusual a gig as his work for Nabisco.

The giant food conglomerate pitted three of its 12 ad agencies against one another in a race to come up with three notes that would be cheery, singable and just intrusive enough.

"There are virtually infinite three-note combinations," says Davis, who quite understandably had his doubts about the assignment. "I remember eating Cream of Wheat (a Nabisco product) as a kid. I had a good, warm feeling about it. The consensus from research confirmed my feelings about the products, that they evoked a sense of quality and nostalgia. I wanted to make that work for the whole company.

"Using music in a commercial is a great aid to recall," he explains. "It will help you remember the commercial and the product. Music allows you to add emotional content."

The success of Nabisco's $96 million musical investment remains to be heard, and the ex-do-wop kid from Detroit is making no predictions. He is probably alone in his caution.

"One thing I've found," Davis sighs, "is that everyone is a music expert."

ThreadBare said:

TB, whaddup?

Talk to me.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Great info crenshaw62.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

I'd really like 2 read his biography that I heard is great.
My favourite song of his is To be loved.
/peace Manki

Manki, you're in for a treat of you read his biography. Jackie had it ruff & cold, he really lived a sad life.

grown folks? I'm not "that old", but this is one of my fav. songs of all time. I never get tired of hearing this song. I feel like playing it now.

When I was little my friend's parents used to play that all the time. We'd skate around the neighborhood singing it @ the top of our lungs Probably pissing everybody off

AnckSuNamun said: