Say No To The Devil

Performer: Rev. Gary Davis
Engineer: Rudy VanGelder
Producer: Kenneth S. Goldstein
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Reverend Gary Davis sings and plays 6 & 12 string guitar and harmonica. Recorded in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in 1961. Originally released on Bluesville (1049). Includes original liner notes by Larry Cohn. All songs composed by Reverend Gary Davis except "Hold To God's Unchanging Hand", "Little Bitty Baby", and "Tryin' To Get To Heaven In Due Time" (traditional, arranged by Reverend Gary Davis). Personnel: Rev. Gary Davis (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, harmonica). Liner Note Author: Lawrence Cohn. Recording information: Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1961); New York, NY (1961). Photographer: Don Schlitten. Arranger: Rev. Gary Davis. Say No to the Devil is Rev. Gary Davis' third Bluesville album, and it was originally released in 1961. Davis was in fine form throughout the session, playing some startlingly intricate 12-string guitar licks, blowing some rootsy harp, and singing with conviction. Between the songs, Davis tells some rambling stories, which are just as gripping and fascinating as the music itself. ~ Thom Owens

Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis is one of the most influential bluesmen in terms of the evolution of folk and rock fingerpicking. A key member of the Piedmont blues movement of the 1920s and '30s, Davis put his own upbeat yet simplistic spin on the rural picking style that marked that scene's sound. Davis moved to New York City in the 1940s where he recorded for the famed Folkways label, eventually becoming a darling of the folk revival that would explode in the coming decades. Everyone from Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk to Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead cite Davis as an influence.

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