Soul singer TYRONE DAVIS has died.

[NightTrain]

On Wednesday, February 9th, the Chicago-based soul singer, Tyrone Davis, died at 66. Here's what I wrote about him on my website (www.soulexpressradio.com):

While Tyrone Davis had only two top ten pop hits, he was a constant presence on the R&B charts for a decade-and-a-half. His eight years with the Dakar label produced some of the very best in Chicago Soul.

Davis was born in Greenville, Mississippi, on May 4, 1938. When his parents divorced a year later, Tyrone's father moved to Saginaw, Michigan, with his infant son. Twenty years passed, during which time Davis married and moved to the west side of Chicago. In 1961, he found work as a valet to bluesman Freddy King, with whom he toured for more than a year.

By 1962, Davis was back in the Windy City and working at a steel mill. He still wanted to be an entertainer, though, and spent his weekends performing at various West Side nightclubs. In 1965, Davis was discovered by Chicago recording artist Harold Burrage, who took him to Willie Barney and Jack Daniels (not that Jack Daniels!) of Four Brothers Productions.

Tyrone's first two singles for the company were both written and produced by Burrage, who would die in November of 1966. Davis released three singles on Four Brothers before the label folded in 1967.

That same year, A&R man Carl Davis (no relation) of Brunswick Records began his own label, Dakar. Among the first artists he recorded were Major Lance, Otis Leaville, and Tyrone Davis. The latter's first release for Dakar, "Can I Change My Mind," came out at the end of 1968 and quickly became a smash. By early 1969, it had peaked at #4 pop and #1 R&B.

After that, Tyrone Davis could do no wrong! His relaxed, confessional style sold 300,000-400,000 copies of each single and kept him in the R&B top twenty (first on Dakar, then on Columbia) through 1983. Unfortunately, Davis remained obscure to white America. Of his 41 charted soul hits, only two--"Can I Change My Mind" and "Turn Back The Hands Of Time"--crossed over to the pop top ten. Hey, it was whitey's loss!

In the autumn of 2004, Tyrone Davis suffered a serious stroke. It kept him in the hospital until his death on February 9, 2005. Davis was 66.

[blondeatlast]

1. "Turn Back the Hands of Time" is one of my favorites.

What a great voice he had.

[jrthin]

2. I remember my angst ridden

teenage nights, broken hearted about some love, lights turned out and listening to "Turn Back the Hands of Time" over and over again.

Hearing the sad news, I'm nostalgic to hear his songs.