| Harlem Street Singer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1960 | |||
| Recorded | August 24, 1960 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder (Englewood Cliffs) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:54 | |||
| Label | Bluesville | |||
| Producer | Kenneth S. Goldstein | |||
| Blind Gary Davis chronology | ||||
| ||||
Harlem Street Singer is a studio album by the American gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Gary Davis, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label in December of that year. It features perhaps his best-known song "Death Don't Have No Mercy". [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [3] |
Harlem Street Singer was met with critical acclaim. According to the journalist and Davis biographer Ian Zack, it proved to be "Davis's masterpiece and one of the most breathtaking recordings of the folk era", with "Rudy Van Gelder's pristine engineering capturing Davis's stellar guitar work and impassioned singing like lightning in a box". [1] AllMusic reviewer Matt Fink later said, "Davis laid down 12 of his most impassioned spirituals for Harlem Street Singer ... Overall, the collection is well worth the purchase and should be considered essential listening for fans of country blues or gospel". [2]
All compositions by Gary Davis except where noted
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy, Davis first performed professionally in the Piedmont blues scene of Durham, North Carolina in the 1930s, before converting to Christianity and becoming a minister. After relocating to New York in the 1940s, Davis experienced a career rebirth as part of the American folk music revival that peaked during the 1960s. Davis' most notable recordings include "Samson and Delilah" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy".
"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" is a traditional folk song popularised in the late 1950s by blues guitarist Eric Von Schmidt. The song is best known from its appearance on Bob Dylan's debut album Bob Dylan.
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Say No to the Devil is an album by blues musician Reverend Gary Davis recorded in 1961 and released on the Bluesville label in August 1962.
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American Street Songs, reissued as Gospel, Blues and Street Songs, is a shared album by blues musicians Pink Anderson and Reverend Gary Davis recorded in 1950 and 1956 and released on the Riverside Folklore Series label in August 1956.
"Death Don't Have No Mercy" is a song by the American gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Gary Davis. It was first recorded on August 24, 1960, for the album Harlem Street Singer (1960), released by Prestige Records' Bluesville label during a career rebirth for Davis in the American folk music revival. The recording was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and produced by Kenneth S. Goldstein, who had pursued Davis in Prestige's effort to capitalize on the revival.
