DESCRIPTION:
Raymond "Stingray" Davis (1940-2005) was a huge influence on generations of bass singers in soul music. Originally singing lower harmonies as part of George Clinton's barber shop quintet The Parliaments, Ray Davis stayed with the group throughout their conversion to Funkadelic and Parliament, and even through financial disputes that split the original members up in 1977. Showcased in this video are a few of his best moments where his singing comes to the forefront. His style of singing is very unusual for a funk band, and actually harkens back to the bass style of singing in hard gospel quartets like The Pilgrim Travelers and The Dixie Hummingbirds. There is no doubt in my mind that the original members of The Parliaments were familiar with such groups, as they bring a very gospel feel to some of their tunes, such as "Nothing Before me but Thang," from Osmium. In the late 60s, it is known that The Parliaments even made "Old Man River," a spiritual tune, part of their live sets, and it is most likely that Ray Davis sang the solo on that due to it's very low opening notes. Please feel free to comment about your favorite Ray Davis moments and any other interesting facts about the great bass singer!