Gail Davies
Encyclopedia
Gail Davies is an American country music
singer-songwriter
. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson.
Davies established herself as a successful singer-songwriter during the 70s and 80s, scoring numerous Top 10 and Top 20 Billboard
hits. She was one of country music's most influential artists, becoming the genre's first female record producer
. She has been cited as a role model for other female singers, including Suzy Bogguss
, Kathy Mattea
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
and Pam Tillis
. Her son, Chris Scruggs, is a former co-lead singer for roots-country band BR549
.
on June 5, 1948. Her father was a popular country singer in the 1940s, performing on The Louisiana Hayride. Gail grew up in Washington State, where her mother re-married. Her last name was changed when she was adopted by her stepfather, Darby Davies. After graduating from high school
, Gail moved to Los Angeles
and married a jazz
musician. She briefly sang jazz
, but quit after they divorced. She was later hired as a session singer
at A&M Records
, working with artists such as Neil Young
and Hoyt Axton
. She was able to sit in on a John Lennon session, produced by Phil Spector, and was befriended by singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell
. Mitchell's engineer, Henry Lewy, taught Gail how to produce records. She was invited to tour Europe
with Frank Zappa
's band, but turned the offer down to work with legendary country artist Roger Miller
.
Davies was encouraged by her older brother, Ron Davies
, to write songs. A successful songwriter himself, Ron was best known for having written "It Ain't Easy
", which has been covered by such diverse artists as David Bowie
and Three Dog Night
, as well as "Long Hard Climb" for Helen Reddy and Maria Muldaur. Gail moved to Nashville in 1976 and signed with EMI Publishing
as a staff songwriter
. One of her first successful compositions, "Bucket to the South", was a hit for Ava Barber
. The song was also recorded by Lynn Anderson
and Mitzi Gaynor
. However, Davies was determined to prove she was a singer herself. She signed with Lifesong/CBS Records in 1978 and released a self-titled album that scored three Top 20 singles. One of her own compositions, an introspective song entitled "Someone Is Looking For Someone Like You", was the album's highest charting single, reaching #11 on the Billboard
charts and #7 in Cashbox. This song has since been recorded in several languages by such internationally known artists as Nana Moskouri, Susan McCann, George Hamilton IV and bluegrass legends, The Country Gentlemen.
in 1979 and became the first female record producer in the history of Country music. Her landmark album The Game was even more successful than her previous recording. It featured a Top 10 single entitled "Blue Heartache", as well as two Top 20 hits, "Like Strangers" and "Good Lovin' Man". Gail produced I'll Be There in 1980, which spawned three more Top 10 hits. The title track went to #4 in Billboard followed by "It's a Lovely, Lovely World" - a duet with Emmylou Harris
- and Gail's own composition, "Grandma's Song". She was honored by the DJs of America in 1981 and voted country music's "Best New Female Vocalist."
The year 1982 showed that Gail Davies was not slowing down. She released her third self-produced album Giving Herself Away. This record brought a new female perspective to Country Music
with another Top 10 hit single, written by Rory Bourke and K.T. Oslin, entitled "Round the Clock Lovin'". Gail's career took a short hiatus in the winter of 1982, when she gave birth to her son, Chris Scruggs, who is also the son of songwriter Gary Scruggs.
Davies released What Can I Say in 1983. Although she had some sizeable hits from this record, including two Top 20 singles - "You're a Hard Dog (To Keep Under the Porch)" and "Boys Like You," - her chart success was beginning to wane. The last single from this album, a duet with Ricky Skaggs
, stalled at #55 on the Billboard charts. What Can I Say was Gail's last album for Warner Bros. She signed with RCA Records
in 1984 and released Where Is a Woman to Go. Produced by Gail and James Taylor
's bass player, Leland Sklar
, this album featured two hit singles - "Breakaway", which went to #15 and "Jagged Edge of a Broken Heart," going to #20. Inspired by a trip to London in 1985, Gail formed the band Wild Choir. They released one self-titled album on RCA. Although there were no hits from this album, the band is often cited as one of the incunabula of the "alt-country" genre, also known as Americana Music
.
In 1989, Gail signed with MCA Records
and produced Pretty Words. This album featured her last charted single, "Hearts in the Wind". Undaunted by the lack of label support, Gail continued to produce great music. She moved to Capitol Records
in 1989 and released two critically acclaimed albums - "The Other Side of Love" and "The Best Of Gail Davies".
before starting her own record label Little Chickadee Productions in 1994. She released a self written, self produced album in 1995 entitled Eclectic, which was chosen by Tower Pulse Magazine and The New York Times as one of the "10 Best Albums of the Year." Other LCP releases include "Gail Davies Greatest Hits", "Live At The Station Inn" and "The Songwriter Sessions."
Gail Davies received an IBMA award in 2002, along with a Grammy nomination for her duet with bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley
. She was also nominated for an Americana
award for producing and arranging Caught In the Webb, a tribute to the late Webb Pierce
. This album features, alongside of Gail Davies, George Jones
, Emmylou Harris
, Willie Nelson
, Pam Tillis
, Dwight Yoakam
, Crystal Gayle
, Charley Pride
, The Del McCoury Band, Allison Moorer
, Guy Clark
, Dale Watson
, The Jordanaires
, Rosie Flores
, Lionel Cartwright
, Robbie Fulks
, Mandy Barnett
and Billy Walker
. Proceeds from this album benefit The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and The Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum.
Although semi-retired, Gail Davies continues to tour, primarily in Europe. She was named "Country Music's International Ambassador" during CMA week in 2009 and released her autobiography "The Last of the Outlaws" in 2011.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson.
Davies established herself as a successful singer-songwriter during the 70s and 80s, scoring numerous Top 10 and Top 20 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
hits. She was one of country music's most influential artists, becoming the genre's first female record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. She has been cited as a role model for other female singers, including Suzy Bogguss
Suzy Bogguss
Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After...
, Kathy Mattea
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
and Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
. Her son, Chris Scruggs, is a former co-lead singer for roots-country band BR549
BR5-49
BR549 is an American country music band. Founded in 1993, the band originally comprised Gary Bennett , Don Herron , "Smilin'" Jay McDowell , Chuck Mead , and "Hawk" Shaw Wilson...
.
Early life and career
Davies was born Patricia Gail Dickerson in Broken Bow, OklahomaBroken Bow, Oklahoma
Broken Bow is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,230 at the 2000 census. It is named after Broken Bow, Nebraska, the former hometown of the city's founders, the Dierks brothers.-History:...
on June 5, 1948. Her father was a popular country singer in the 1940s, performing on The Louisiana Hayride. Gail grew up in Washington State, where her mother re-married. Her last name was changed when she was adopted by her stepfather, Darby Davies. After graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, Gail moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and married a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician. She briefly sang jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, but quit after they divorced. She was later hired as a session singer
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
at A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, working with artists such as Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
. She was able to sit in on a John Lennon session, produced by Phil Spector, and was befriended by singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. Mitchell's engineer, Henry Lewy, taught Gail how to produce records. She was invited to tour Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's band, but turned the offer down to work with legendary country artist Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
.
Davies was encouraged by her older brother, Ron Davies
Ron Davies (songwriter)
Ron Davies was an American songwriter and musician. He was described by CMT News at the time of his death as "the family's artistic trailblazer" though "less celebrated… than his [younger] sister," country music singer-songwriter Gail Davies.Son of local country singer Tex Dickerson he took the...
, to write songs. A successful songwriter himself, Ron was best known for having written "It Ain't Easy
It Ain't Easy (song)
"It Ain't Easy" is a song written and originally recorded by Ron Davies. Davies recorded the song on his 1970 album Silent Song Through the Land...
", which has been covered by such diverse artists as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
, as well as "Long Hard Climb" for Helen Reddy and Maria Muldaur. Gail moved to Nashville in 1976 and signed with EMI Publishing
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
as a staff songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. One of her first successful compositions, "Bucket to the South", was a hit for Ava Barber
Ava Barber
Ava Barber is an American country music singer and performer. She is best remembered for having performed on The Lawrence Welk Show throughout much of the 1970s and early 1980s....
. The song was also recorded by Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
and Mitzi Gaynor
Mitzi Gaynor
-Life and career:Gaynor was born as Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago, Illinois to Pauline Fisher, a dancer, and Henry von Gerber, a violinist, cellist, and music director. The family first moved to Detroit and when she was eleven to Hollywood, California.She trained as a ballerina...
. However, Davies was determined to prove she was a singer herself. She signed with Lifesong/CBS Records in 1978 and released a self-titled album that scored three Top 20 singles. One of her own compositions, an introspective song entitled "Someone Is Looking For Someone Like You", was the album's highest charting single, reaching #11 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts and #7 in Cashbox. This song has since been recorded in several languages by such internationally known artists as Nana Moskouri, Susan McCann, George Hamilton IV and bluegrass legends, The Country Gentlemen.
The height of her career
Davies switched to Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in 1979 and became the first female record producer in the history of Country music. Her landmark album The Game was even more successful than her previous recording. It featured a Top 10 single entitled "Blue Heartache", as well as two Top 20 hits, "Like Strangers" and "Good Lovin' Man". Gail produced I'll Be There in 1980, which spawned three more Top 10 hits. The title track went to #4 in Billboard followed by "It's a Lovely, Lovely World" - a duet with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
- and Gail's own composition, "Grandma's Song". She was honored by the DJs of America in 1981 and voted country music's "Best New Female Vocalist."
The year 1982 showed that Gail Davies was not slowing down. She released her third self-produced album Giving Herself Away. This record brought a new female perspective to Country Music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
with another Top 10 hit single, written by Rory Bourke and K.T. Oslin, entitled "Round the Clock Lovin'". Gail's career took a short hiatus in the winter of 1982, when she gave birth to her son, Chris Scruggs, who is also the son of songwriter Gary Scruggs.
Davies released What Can I Say in 1983. Although she had some sizeable hits from this record, including two Top 20 singles - "You're a Hard Dog (To Keep Under the Porch)" and "Boys Like You," - her chart success was beginning to wane. The last single from this album, a duet with Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, stalled at #55 on the Billboard charts. What Can I Say was Gail's last album for Warner Bros. She signed with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in 1984 and released Where Is a Woman to Go. Produced by Gail and James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
's bass player, Leland Sklar
Leland Sklar
Leland "Lee" Bruce Sklar is an American musician, singer-songwriter and film score composer. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to thousands of albums as a session musician...
, this album featured two hit singles - "Breakaway", which went to #15 and "Jagged Edge of a Broken Heart," going to #20. Inspired by a trip to London in 1985, Gail formed the band Wild Choir. They released one self-titled album on RCA. Although there were no hits from this album, the band is often cited as one of the incunabula of the "alt-country" genre, also known as Americana Music
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
.
In 1989, Gail signed with MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
and produced Pretty Words. This album featured her last charted single, "Hearts in the Wind". Undaunted by the lack of label support, Gail continued to produce great music. She moved to Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1989 and released two critically acclaimed albums - "The Other Side of Love" and "The Best Of Gail Davies".
Later career and life today
Capitol/EMI hired Gail Davies as Nashville's first female staff producer in 1990. Gail spent four years working with talented young artists like Mandy BarnettMandy Barnett
Amanda Carol "Mandy" Barnett is a country music singer and stage actress. In her musical career, she has released three albums and charted three singles on the Billboard country charts. Her highest-charting country single is "Now That's All Right With Me", which reached #43 in 1996...
before starting her own record label Little Chickadee Productions in 1994. She released a self written, self produced album in 1995 entitled Eclectic, which was chosen by Tower Pulse Magazine and The New York Times as one of the "10 Best Albums of the Year." Other LCP releases include "Gail Davies Greatest Hits", "Live At The Station Inn" and "The Songwriter Sessions."
Gail Davies received an IBMA award in 2002, along with a Grammy nomination for her duet with bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
. She was also nominated for an Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
award for producing and arranging Caught In the Webb, a tribute to the late Webb Pierce
Webb Pierce
Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
. This album features, alongside of Gail Davies, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
, Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
, Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
, The Del McCoury Band, Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
, Guy Clark
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
, Dale Watson
Dale Watson
Dale L. Watson is the former Assistant Director for the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI, as such he headed the FBI investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks.-Education:...
, The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...
, Rosie Flores
Rosie Flores
Rosie Flores is a rockabilly and country music artist of Mexican American heritage. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage...
, Lionel Cartwright
Lionel Cartwright
Lionel Cartwright is an American country music artist. Between 1988 and 1992, Cartwright charted twelve singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, including a Number One single in 1991's "Leap of Faith"...
, Robbie Fulks
Robbie Fulks
Robbie Fulks is an American alternative country artist originally from Pennsylvania but who is a longtime Chicago, Illinois resident...
, Mandy Barnett
Mandy Barnett
Amanda Carol "Mandy" Barnett is a country music singer and stage actress. In her musical career, she has released three albums and charted three singles on the Billboard country charts. Her highest-charting country single is "Now That's All Right With Me", which reached #43 in 1996...
and Billy Walker
Billy Walker
William Henry "Billy" Walker was a prominent English footballer of the 1920s and 1930s. He is considered by many to be the greatest footballer to ever play for Aston Villa Football Club-Biography:...
. Proceeds from this album benefit The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and The Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum.
Although semi-retired, Gail Davies continues to tour, primarily in Europe. She was named "Country Music's International Ambassador" during CMA week in 2009 and released her autobiography "The Last of the Outlaws" in 2011.