East St Louis
'The room is dark, the air smoky, and the music pounds, filling the senses until it seems as if the whole world will burst. Dozens of bodies are pushing and pulling, thrusting and turning on a crowded dance floor that quakes with every beat. Overhead burn sky red lights casting shadows on sweet streaked faces.' This is how Eillen Bird depicted East St Louis notorious blues club Tubby's Red Room in her 'Jazz & blues Lover's guide to the US'.
In the fall of '94 my travel companions and myself went looking for this fascinating, earthy place in one of America's roughest neighbourhoods. We found it on a nearly deserted street on the South East end of East St Louis. that was on a Tuesday morning and the notorious blues club didn't look any different from many of the other buildings we had seen on our drive to it.
Unfortunately there wasn't anything on that night, so we didn't get the chance to see the place like Eileen Bird did. But listening to this great set by Boo Boo Davis & Arthur Williams, I can imagine how wild the place could get. For 18 years The Davis Brothers Band, with James 'Boo Boo' Davis and his brothers were the house band at Tubby's Red Room. Every Friday and Saturday from 2 am until 6 am they set the place ablaze with their raw, pounding music. today James 'Boo Boo' Davis is the only member of the renowned family band that's still with us.
Born on November 4th, 1943 in Drew, Mississippi, he started playing drums at the age of 7. As his family couldn't afford a regular drum kit, they used lard cans, which is how the band became known locally as the Lard Can Band. The other members, in addition to Boo himself, included his father Sylvester Sr. and his sister Clara on vocals, his brothers Sylvester Jr or S.L. Davis on bass and his younger brother John on the guitar. they mostly played their hometown and at one time they also backed a young guitarist/vocalist named BB King, at that time mainly known within his home state Mississippi.
Like so many of his generation, Boo left Mississippi and headed North. He was 24 when he got to St Louis and started playing his first gigs with Doc Terry. When he left Doc, he started a new band with Little Aaron, known for his composition 'East Saint Louis', the title song of this album. The tight band got a strong rep and backed some of the day's best known blues men passing through St Louis. During that period Boo played behind the like of Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Milton and Elmore James to name just a few.
In 1972 he formed the Davis Brothers Band, with his two brothers, with whom he wrecked Tubby's Red Room every Friday and Saturday night for over a period of 18 years. Boo's brother are no longer with us today. And Boo now mostly plays drums with Arthur Williams, with whom he recorded 'Harpin' On It' in December '98. This time Arthur supported his friend on his first full cd, which gives a good idea how wild it could get at tubby's Red Room when the Davis Brothers Band was on. Boo and his drum set provide the band's propelling drive, but the man himself also shines as a vocalist.
Just listen to his great rendition of Sam Cooke's 'Somebody Have Mercy' or the dark, moody 'Ice Storm' on which he depicts a heavy ice storm he witnessed down in Mississippi. Most of his songs are based on his own experiences or observations, but they are musically close to the music he absorbed in the past... 'nuff said now... It's music time! Turn up the volume and enjoy the wild & raw sounds of Boo Boo Davis & his friends.
James Boo Boo Davis - vocals & drums
Arthur Williams - harp
Bob Lohr - piano
Greg Edick - bass
Larry Griffin - guitar
of Fedora Records
2] We're In Hell - J.Davis
3] Somebody Have Mercy - Sam Cooke
4] Hard Times - J.Davis
5] East St. Louis - Little Aaron/J.Davis
6] Ice Storm - J.Davis
7] Talkin' 'bout My Dogs - J.Davis
8] Ain't Got no Problems - J.Davis
9] What Makes A Fool Fall In Love - J.Davis
10] Walk That Walk - J.Davis
11] I Had A Draem - J.Davis
12] Walk On Tall - J.Davis