Tyrone Davis
The king of romantic Chicago soul, Tyrone Davis' warm, aching vulnerability and stylish class made him especially popular with female soul fans during a lengthy hitmaking run that lasted throughout the 1970s. Best known for the classics "Can I Change My Mind" and "Turn Back the Hands of Time," Davis was a versatile baritone singer who could handle everything from pop-soul to funk to bluesy chitlin-circuit R&B, but smooth soul was his true bread and butter. Once Davis broke through in the late '60s, he never really stopped recording; although the R&B chart hits dried up by the early '80s, he was still going strong into the new millennium, decades after his first single was released.
Tyrone Davis was born in Greenville, Mississippi; he spent most of his formative years in Saginaw, Michigan, and moved to Chicago in 1959, where he eventually found a job as a valet and chauffeur for bluesman Freddie King. He befriended the likes of Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Milton, and Otis Clay, among others, and began to pursue his own singing career in the clubs on the city's West and South Sides. Singer/pianist Harold Burrage took Davis under his wing and helped him refine his craft, and the budding blues shouter got his first shot in 1965 on the Four Brothers label. His first single, "Suffer," was recorded under the name Tyrone the Wonder Boy and written and produced by Burrage, as was the follow-up "Good Company." Unfortunately, Burrage passed away in late 1966, and after one more single Davis moved on to cut one-offs for Sack and ABC. He found a home at Carl Davis' new label Dakar in 1968, when a Texas DJ flipped his first release over and started playing the B-side, "Can I Change My Mind." Showcasing Davis' lovelorn pleading to best effect, the song went all the way to number one on the R&B charts, and reached the pop Top Five as well.
Teamed with producer/arranger Willie Henderson, who'd masterminded "Can I Change My Mind," Davis capitalized on his breakthrough with a string of orchestrated hits that emphasized his new, smoother style, and helped point the way for Chicago soul into a new decade. "Is It Something You've Got" reached the R&B Top Five in 1969, and it was followed in 1970 by the sublime "Turn Back the Hands of Time." It was his second R&B number one, and also his biggest hit on the pop charts with a peak at number three; plus, the accompanying album of the same name ranks among the best soul LPs of its time, producing two more hits in the R&B Top Ten "I'll Be Right Here" and "Let Me Back In." Davis hit the R&B Top 40 with steady regularity over the next few years, including the Top Tens "Could I Forget You," "I Had It All the Time," "Without You in My Life," and "There It Is." In 1975, he scored his third number one R&B hit with "Turning Point," but left Dakar for Columbia the following year.
Davis' ballad mastery was a main selling point for Columbia, which made his backing orchestrations even lusher than before, but he also made the occasional concession to contemporary dance trends, which informed his debut Columbia hit "Give It Up (Turn It Loose)," a number two R&B single from 1976. Further successes followed in "This I Swear" (1977), "Get On Up (Disco)" (1978), and the slinky ballad "In the Mood" (1979). Davis recorded his final album for Columbia in 1981, then switched to Highrise, where he promptly landed a Top Five R&B hit -- his last, as it turned out -- with "Are You Serious" in 1982. Short stints with Ocean-Front and Prelude followed before Davis settled in with Future for the latter half of the '80s. He spent the first half of the '90s on retro-soul label Ichiban, recording several albums, and then moved to Southern soul imprint Malaco in 1996 for an equally productive stay that lasted into the new millennium. Davis continued to release new albums every year or two, and toured the soul/blues circuit as restlessly as ever. Tyrone Davis suffered a stroke in October 2004 and remained hospitalized until his death in February 2005.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Everything In Place (Bonus Track)
Pop - Erschienen bei Legacy Recordings am 27.05.2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
In the Mood with Tyrone Davis (Expanded Edition)
R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 19.08.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Just Can't Keep On Going
Pop - Erschienen bei Legacy Recordings am 27.05.2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
I Can't Go On This Way
Pop - Erschienen bei Legacy Recordings am 27.05.2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Be Closer Together (Expanded)
R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 10.06.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Can't You Tell It's Me
R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 15.07.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love and Touch (Expanded)
R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 10.06.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For the Good Times
Soul - Erschienen bei Chi-Sound Records am 01.01.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Turn Back the Hands of Time
Soul - Erschienen bei Edsel am 04.05.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of Tyrone Davis: In The Mood
Soul/Funk/R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 04.06.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Give It Up (Turn It Loose): The Very Best Of The Columbia Years
Soul/Funk/R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 12.07.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Man of Stone (In Love Again)
R&B - Erschienen bei Future Records am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Turning Back the Hands of Time, The Soul of Tyrone Davis
Soul - Erschienen bei Edsel am 20.04.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Can I Change My Mind (Original Canyon Demo)
Soul - Erschienen bei Essential Media Group am 18.12.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Come To Daddy
Soul - Erschienen bei Future Records am 05.08.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Super Hits
Soul/Funk/R&B - Erschienen bei Columbia - Legacy am 30.04.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -