Cedell Davis

about

CeDell Davis (born Ellis Davis; June 9, 1927 –September 27, 2017) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Davis was most notable for his distinctive style of guitar playing. Davis played guitar using a table knife in his fretting hand in a manner similar to slide guitar, resulting in a welter of metal-stress harmonic transients and a singular tonal plasticity. He used this style out of necessity. When he was 10, he suffered from severe polio which left him little control over his left hand and restricted use of his right. He had been playing guitar prior to his polio and decided to continue in spite of his handicap, and developed his knife method as the only way he could come up with of still playing guitar. Davis passed away on September 27, 2017. He had recently suffered a heart attack. Davis was born in Helena, Arkansas, United States, where his family worked on a local plantation. He enjoyed music from a young age, playing harmonica and guitar with his childhood friends. Once he sufficiently mastered his variation on slide guitar playing, Davis began playing in various nightclubs across the Mississippi Delta area. He played with Robert Nighthawk for a ten-year period from 1953 to 1963. While playing in a club in 1957, a police raid caused the crowd to stampede over Davis. Both of his legs were broken in this incident and he was forced to use a wheelchair since that time. The hardships resulting from his physical handicaps were a major influence in his lyrics and s

top songs

albums

Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong

Root Damage

The Horror Of It All

Ninja Tune XX - Xxclusives 2 ZENCD160F

Even the Devil Gets the Blues

Last Man Standing

When Lightnin' Struck the Pine

The Best of Cedell Davis

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Ninja Tune XX - Xxclusives 2

Ninja Tune XX

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Highway 61 - CeDell Davis / Herman Alexander

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Ninja Tune XX: 20 Years Of Beats & Pieces

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