Tyrone Davis born 4 May 1938

Tyrone Davis (May 4, 1938* – February 9, 2005), born Tyrone Fettson, was a leading American soul singer with a distinctive style, recording a long list of hit records over a period of more than 20 years.

Tyrone Fettson was born in a rural community twenty miles outside of Greenville, Mississippi to Willie Branch and Ora Lee Jones. He moved with his father to Saginaw, Michigan, before relocating to Chicago in 1959.

Working as a valet/chauffeur for blues singer Freddie King, he started singing in local clubs where he was discovered by record executive/musician Harold Burrage. His early records for small record labels in the city, billed as "Tyrone the Wonder Boy", failed to register.

In 1968 Davis was singing at a club when Brunswick Records’ Otis Leaville heard him. Leaville suggested he come to their offices and meet influential producer Carl Davis. Davis had produced Jackie Wilson, Gene Chandler, the Chi-Lites and many other hit groups for Brunswick and was always looking for new talent. But Carl was not impressed with Tyrone and told him so. Fortuitously, house songwriter Floyd Smith heard something in him that piqued his interest. Smith secretly recorded Davis singing his song A Woman Needs to Be Loved. Carl Davis was furious and said the song was promised to Jackie Wilson—end of discussion.

But Smith was also Carl’s limo driver, and that evening when he drove his boss home he sneaked the tape into his house and put it on while Carl was upstairs. Suddenly the producer burst into the room asking who was singing the song. Carl called Tyrone the next morning and asked him to come to his office. He agreed to record Tyrone but insisted that he couldn’t put it out on Brunswick for eight to nine months. However, he did have a small label of his own, Dakar Records, through which he could release the recording.

Tyrone acquiesced and the single was released but didn’t catch fire. By chance, Houston DJ Wild Child began playing the B-side Can I Change My Mind and to everyone’s surprise is was a smash hit that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart in late 1968 while climbing to #5 in the Hot 100. It sold over one million and received gold disc recognition. 

                               

His biggest hit came in early 1970 when "Turn Back the Hands of Time" also reached #1 in the R&B chart and went up to #3 in the Hot 100 pop chart. Written by Jack Daniels and Bonnie Thompson, this disc also sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America in May 1970.

Davis released about 25 singles during his seven years with Dakar, most of them big R&B sellers produced by Willie Henderson. He finally returned to the top spot with "Turning Point" in 1975. Soon afterwards, Davis switched to the major Columbia record label and recorded seven albums over the next five years with producer Leo Graham and arranger James Mack who had collaborated with him for "Turning Point". Major hits with Columbia included "Give It Up" (#2), "This I Swear" (#6), and "In The Mood" (#6).

1982 brought a change of label to the newly-established independent, Highrise and another major hit, "Are You Serious" (#3 R&B, #57 pop), again produced by Leo Graham, and written by L.V. Johnson. When Highrise closed the following year, Davis switched to a tiny Los Angeles label Ocean Front which lacked promotional muscle to get behind arguably one of his best performances, "Let Me Be Your Pacifier". 

Davis' days as a major chart act were over but he continued to be a popular live attraction and finally signed in 1996 with Malaco Records, the southern-based blues label. Over his four-decade career, Davis recorded 38 albums. Throughout his career Davis remained a hugely popular live act and was credited as having one of the finest show bands in the blues.

A stroke in September 2004 curtailed his career and following complications arising from pneumonia, he died in a Chicago hospital in February 2005 at the age of 66. This was noted in his Living Blues obituary: “Aside from his purely musical gifts, Davis was deeply respected for his professionalism and dedication to his craft. He worked hard to create a sound that would be identified as distinctively his own, and constantly surrounded himself with the finest writers, arrangers and musicians available.”

He left a widow, Ann, to whom he had been married for over 40 years, and several children and grandchildren. His younger sister, Jean Davis, was a member of the group, Facts of Life.

(Edited mainly from Wikipedia & Malaco.com)

*Most sources give his date of birth as May 4, 1938, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc state that his funeral notice gives October 1937.