James "Thunderbird" Davis

James Louis Huston, better known as James "Thunderbird" Davis (November 10, 1938 – January 24, 1992), was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He recorded several singles for Duke Records in the early 1960s, achieving moderate success with "Blue Monday". He dropped out of public attention until his career was revived in 1989 with the release of his album Check Out Time. Davis died on stage in 1992, at the age of 53.

Biography Davis was born in Prichard, Alabama, United States. and came to the attention of Guitar Slim in 1957. Davis opened for Slim and was also a member of his backing band. Slim gave Davis his nickname after a drinking session which put Davis in a hospital, suffering the effects of Thunderbird wine, which Davis vowed to never touch again. but none of his releases with Duke were commercially successful outside the Deep South. The collection had a stellar backing band, including the guitarists Anson Funderburgh and Clarence Hollimon and the saxophonist Grady Gaines, who were named on the record sleeve as the Black Top All-Stars. A re-recording of a song he wrote, "Your Turn to Cry", recalled Davis's 1964 glory days.

In January 1992, two months before he was to record his second album, Davis collapsed and died of a heart attack on stage, halfway through a set at the Blues Saloon in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was 53 years old.

Albums Year Title Record label 1989 Check Out Time Black Top Records