Gail Davies
Gail Davies |
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Gail Davies (b. Patricia Gail Dickerson June 5, 1948) 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, the grandson of banjo great Earl Scruggs, is a former co-lead singer for roots-country band BR549.
Early life and career
Davies was born Patricia Gail Dickerson in Broken Bow, Oklahoma 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 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 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. Gail moved to Nashville in 1976 and signed with EMI Publishing as a staff songwriter. One of her first 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 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 #8 in Cashbox. The song has since been recorded in seven languages by such international artists as Nana Moskouri and Susan McCann.
The height of her career
Davies switched to Warner Bros. Records in 1979 and became the first female record producer in 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. This album spawned three more Top 10 hits with the title track going 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 entitled "Round the Clock Lovin'", written by K.T. Oslin. Gail's career took a short hiatus in the winter of 1982, when she gave birth to her son Chris.
Davies released What Can I Say in 1983. Although she had some sizeable hits, 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. 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".
Later career & life today
Capitol/EMI hired Gail Davies as a staff producer in 1990. She spent four years working with talented young artists like Mandy Barnett before starting her own record label Little Chickadee Productions. She released a self written, self produced album in 1995 entitled Eclectic, which was chosen by the New York Times and Tower Pulse Magazine as one of the 10 Best Albums of the Year. Other LCP productions include "Gail Davies Greatest Hits", "Live At The Station Inn" and "The Songwriter Sessions."
Gail received an IBMA award in 2001, 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 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 , Billy Walker and Gail Davies. Proceeds from this album benefit The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and The Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum.