Say No to the Devil

Although the Reverend Gary Davis was one of the greatest blues and ragtime guitarists of the twentieth century, he has not yet received the widespread recognition that contemporaries such as Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson have been able to attain. This is not to say that "the Rev," as he was known, was underappreciated by the musicians he influenced or taught. Bob Dylan called him "one of the wizards of modern music," while his one-time students, musicians Stefan Grossman and David Bromberg, are still teaching his musical techniques. Say No to the Devil brilliantly recounts the life and musical career of Reverend Gary Davis, from his harrowing beginnings as the blind son of sharecroppers, to his time as one of the virtuosos of the New York 1950s and '60s folk scene. Davis possessed stunning guitar technique, and his incredibly versatile repertoire embraced blues, gospel, minstrel tunes, ragtime, bluegrass, and early jazz. Leaving South Carolina an ordained Baptist minister, Davis came to New York in 1951, where he sang and preached for nickels and dimes on street corners and in storefront churches in Harlem and around the city. Drawing on his conversations with figures from the Folk Revival in New York and Cambridge, Zack chronicles Davis's entry into a circle of musicians that included Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, and Dave van Ronk. His music and virtuosity finally began to become known both here and in England; Davis played at the Newport Folk Festival. But his late career as a concert performer also coincided with increasing problems with alcohol, women, and deteriorating health. The eminent folklorist, Alan Lomax called Davis "one of the really great geniuses of American instrumental music."