Davis Deluxe

Davis Deluxe was formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee by band namesake, Gary Davis and Steve Logan. Davis had been a band member and back-up player for numerous well known artists as well as having been an opening act as a solo artist for such musical greats as, Kris Kristofferson, Tim Buckley, Billy Swan, Hoyt Axton, Mickey Newbury, Muddy Waters, Randy Bachman, Arlo Guthrie, Dave Van Ronk, Lightin' Hopkins, Jesse Winchester, B.J. Thomas and many others. Logan was a respected studio musician who had recorded on numerous gold albums in Nashville and toured for years with Johnny Cash.
Personnel changes in the group over the years included mostly Davis' personal friends, most of which were famed Nashville session players such as drummer Kenny Buttrey (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jimmy Buffett, Elvis Presley, The Pointer Sisters, Bob Seeger, Area Code 615, Barefoot Jerry), guitarist Bucky Barrett (Ray Charles, Neil Young, Lenny Breau, Roy Orbison), and bassists Jimmy Johnson (Vince Gill, Delbert McClinton), Mike Smoot (Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris), Steve Carmen (Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton, Gladys Knight), and others.
The band released a half dozen recordings in the early to mid-1980s, all of which were highly reviewed by both regional and national publications, including Billboard Magazine, Nashville's Music Row Magazine, Spin Magazine and many others. The band was pursued by Ahmet Ertegün himself, founder of Atlantic Records, as well as by other major labels, including EMI and The Beatle's label, Apple.
Band founder Gary Davis abandoned Nashville and the major label scene and moved to Miami, then eventually to New Orleans. The group continued on into the early 1990s, however no further recordings were released. Davis continues to write and perform as an Americana styled solo/acoustic act and tours mainly in the southern United States. Logan retired from music. Barrett runs a successful studio in Nashville, Johnson is still with Vince Gill, Buttrey died in 2004, and bassist Steve Carmen is presently battling cancer.

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