Danny Davis (country musician)
Encyclopedia
Danny Davis was a band leader, trumpet player, vocalist and producer and founder/leader of the Nashville Brass.
). When he became a professional musician, he changed his name to Danny Davis because MGM executive Harry Meseron told him that "he looked like a Danny." He took the last name Davis because it was a common name in the South.
Davis's father died when he was five years old. His mother supported the family by giving music lessons (piano and voice) in the family home.
Davis began playing trumpet at a very early age under the guidance of a man named Joseph Donovan. By age 14 he was trumpet soloist with the Massachusetts All-State Symphony Orchestra and was granted admittance to the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music
. He decided to leave the conservatory after only six weeks when he was offered a job as a trumpeter with the band of legendary drummer, Gene Krupa
(ca. 1940).
During the remainder of the 1940s and into the 1950s Davis continued working as a trumpeter/vocalist in several big bands including the band's of Bobby Byrne, Sammy Kaye
, Art Mooney
(he played First Trumpet on Mooney's huge seller "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
"), Vincent Lopez
and Freddy Martin
. In Martin's band, in addition to his duties on trumpet, Davis sang as one of the "Martin Men" and roomed on the road with the band's male vocalist, Merv Griffin
.
. Davis cut pop demos of country songs for Rose. His demo of "Cold, Cold Heart
" lead to the pop recording by Tony Bennett
.
In the early Sixties, Davis assembled a session group called "Danny Davis & the Titans" around guitarist Billy Mure. In 1961 the group released an instrumental album entitled, Today's Teen Beat (MGM SE 3992). A few months later, the group followed it up with an album designed to capitalize on the "Twist
" craze, with another instrumental album entitled, Let's Do the Twist for Adults (MGM SE 3997). Six of the Titan songs on the second album received a great deal of exposure in 1964 when MGM used them to pad-out a collection of nascent Beatles tracks on an album called, The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guests
(MGM SE 4215).
While at MGM Davis was assigned to produce one of the label's most successful artists, Connie Francis
. This collaboration lead to several number 1 hits for Francis. In the early 1960s Davis began taking Francis to Nashville where he recorded pop versions of country songs with her. It was during this time that his idea to record country songs with brass instruments was born. Also during his time at MGM Davis was responsible for bringing Herman's Hermits
(featuring Peter Noone) to the label.
During his stint at MGM Davis recorded several albums with an orchestra composed of some of the best studio musicians working in New York at the time. Most notable among these is an album entitled "Brass on the Rebound." This album was recorded in 1963 and featured only one woodwind player in the orchestra. This demonstrates Davis' penchant for working with a brass ensemble several years before he began the Nashville Brass.
In his career as a record producer Davis worked with a wide variety of artists, from Nina Simone
to Polka king Frank Yankovic. During his days in New York he was also involved in early testing for broadcasting television programs in color.
.
In Nashville, Davis was assigned to produce sessions on Waylon Jennings
. Even though it was a recording produced by Davis that earned Jennings his first Grammy award (MacArthur Park
with The Kimberly's, http://grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results), the two men did not have a good working relationship. It is reported that on one occasion Jennings pulled a gun on Davis during a recording session(http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=131#), but Davis denies the incident ever took place. Davis also worked with other RCA artists including Dottie West
, Floyd Cramer
and Hank Locklin
.
. He decided to pitch Chet his idea of recording country songs with brass instruments. Davis was surprised when Atkins told him he thought it was a good idea. In fact, Davis told Atkins that the RCA label executives in New York had thought it was a "terrible idea." Atkins told Davis, "young fella, I run Nashville, go do it." The only suggestion Atkins made was instead of calling the group "Country Brass" he thought Davis should call it "Nashville Brass."
Davis immediately went to work on a demo. He chose Nashville arranger and fellow trumpeter, Bill McElhiney, to help create the sound of the Nashville Brass. The basic idea was to replace the vocalist with a brass ensemble (two to three trumpets, two trombones) playing over a standard country rhythm section (guitar, bass, drums, banjo).
For his recordings, Davis assembled a rhythm section of Nashville's "A" list musicians: Grady Martin
(guitar), Floyd Cramer
(piano), Bob Moore
(bass), Buddy Harmon (drums), Bobby Thompson (banjo), John Hartford
(banjo). When completed, Atkins hand carried the demo (Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light") to a meeting of RCA executives in California. In October 1968 the first album "The Nashville Brass Play The Nashville Sound" was released. The first album was followed by "The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds" in 1969.
Also in 1970 Davis changed his relationship with RCA in that he ceased to produce other artists so he could concentrate all his energies on the Nashville Brass.
Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass literally took Country Music around the world, being one of the first acts in the genre to have their own airplane (originally a DC-3 later a Martin 404, named "Lady Barbara" for Davis' wife). They were also one of the first Country acts to take the music to the Vegas strip working first as an opening act for Connie Francis
and later Kay Starr
, they soon returned to headline. The group also guest starred on many of the biggest television shows of the day including Red Skelton
, Ed Sullivan
and the show of his old friend, Merv Griffin
.
In the 1980s Davis joined the cast of Hee Haw
as a member of the "Million Dollar Band" with fellow instrumentalists Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Roy Clark
(guitar), Charlie McCoy
(harmonica), Johnny Gimble (fiddle) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns
(mandolin).
Davis and his group maintained a heavy touring schedule well into the 1990s. In the mid-90's Davis partnered with his old friend, Boots Randolph
, opening the Stardust Theater in Nashville (near the Opryland Hotel). The two performed shows nightly for a couple of years.
For the majority of his touring years, Davis retained on salary a fairly consistent personnel line-up. Among those musicians were: Bill Pippin (trumpet/flugelhorn/flute); Ray Carroll (trumpet/flugelhorn); Rex Peer (trombone); Phil Jones (bass trombone), Jones replaced the band's original bass trombonist, Frank Smith, after Smith's death in a car accident; Larry Morton (guitar); Chuck Sanders (bass); Terry Waddell (drums); Curtis McPeake (banjo).
Featured prominently on the 1971 album Somethin' Else was an electric sitar
, played by an unidentified individual. This was a first for the Nashville scene.
Davis and his group performed the theme song for the animated series Speed Racer
.
Early life and career
Danny Davis was born as George Nowlan into a large Irish-Catholic family in Dorchester, Massachusetts (one of his brothers became a priest who at one time was assigned to the VaticanRoman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
). When he became a professional musician, he changed his name to Danny Davis because MGM executive Harry Meseron told him that "he looked like a Danny." He took the last name Davis because it was a common name in the South.
Davis's father died when he was five years old. His mother supported the family by giving music lessons (piano and voice) in the family home.
Davis began playing trumpet at a very early age under the guidance of a man named Joseph Donovan. By age 14 he was trumpet soloist with the Massachusetts All-State Symphony Orchestra and was granted admittance to the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
. He decided to leave the conservatory after only six weeks when he was offered a job as a trumpeter with the band of legendary drummer, Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
(ca. 1940).
During the remainder of the 1940s and into the 1950s Davis continued working as a trumpeter/vocalist in several big bands including the band's of Bobby Byrne, Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye , born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era.-Biography:...
, Art Mooney
Art Mooney
Art Mooney was an American popular bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and "Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955...
(he played First Trumpet on Mooney's huge seller "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
"I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" is a song from 1927, written by Mort Dixon with music by Harry M. Woods. It was a hit for Art Mooney & His Orchestra in 1948 and was largely popularized by him. In modern times the song is perhaps most associated with Merrie Melodies cartoons, as it appeared in...
"), Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez was an American bandleader and pianist.Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York and was leading his own dance band in New York City by 1917...
and Freddy Martin
Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.-Early life:Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised largely in an orphanage and with various relatives, Martin started out playing drums, then switched to C-melody saxophone and later tenor saxophone, the latter the one...
. In Martin's band, in addition to his duties on trumpet, Davis sang as one of the "Martin Men" and roomed on the road with the band's male vocalist, Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
.
The MGM days
During the early 50's Davis found some moderate success as a vocalist releasing several singles including "Object of My Affection" and "Crazy Heart." The late 1950s was a transitional period in Davis' career. He found himself in New York City working as a producer for the MGM label. He also made an important contact in Nashville with Fred RoseFred Rose (musician)
Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...
. Davis cut pop demos of country songs for Rose. His demo of "Cold, Cold Heart
Cold, Cold Heart
"Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and popular music song, written by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook....
" lead to the pop recording by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
.
In the early Sixties, Davis assembled a session group called "Danny Davis & the Titans" around guitarist Billy Mure. In 1961 the group released an instrumental album entitled, Today's Teen Beat (MGM SE 3992). A few months later, the group followed it up with an album designed to capitalize on the "Twist
Twist (dance)
The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...
" craze, with another instrumental album entitled, Let's Do the Twist for Adults (MGM SE 3997). Six of the Titan songs on the second album received a great deal of exposure in 1964 when MGM used them to pad-out a collection of nascent Beatles tracks on an album called, The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guests
The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guests
The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guests was an American album featuring "Cry for a Shadow," a track recorded by The Beatles in Hamburg in 1961, with five tracks recorded in Hamburg in 1961 in which The Beatles provided backing music for vocalist Tony Sheridan, some of which had been released in...
(MGM SE 4215).
While at MGM Davis was assigned to produce one of the label's most successful artists, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
. This collaboration lead to several number 1 hits for Francis. In the early 1960s Davis began taking Francis to Nashville where he recorded pop versions of country songs with her. It was during this time that his idea to record country songs with brass instruments was born. Also during his time at MGM Davis was responsible for bringing Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
(featuring Peter Noone) to the label.
During his stint at MGM Davis recorded several albums with an orchestra composed of some of the best studio musicians working in New York at the time. Most notable among these is an album entitled "Brass on the Rebound." This album was recorded in 1963 and featured only one woodwind player in the orchestra. This demonstrates Davis' penchant for working with a brass ensemble several years before he began the Nashville Brass.
In his career as a record producer Davis worked with a wide variety of artists, from Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
to Polka king Frank Yankovic. During his days in New York he was also involved in early testing for broadcasting television programs in color.
The move to RCA
In the mid-sixties Davis moved to the RCA label. While still in New York he pitched his idea of recording country songs with a brass ensemble. To say the least, the idea was not well received. Not long after he joined RCA Davis was approved for transfer to the Nashville office by Chet AtkinsChet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
.
In Nashville, Davis was assigned to produce sessions on Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
. Even though it was a recording produced by Davis that earned Jennings his first Grammy award (MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park is a park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, named after General Douglas MacArthur and designated city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.- Geography :...
with The Kimberly's, http://grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results), the two men did not have a good working relationship. It is reported that on one occasion Jennings pulled a gun on Davis during a recording session(http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=131#), but Davis denies the incident ever took place. Davis also worked with other RCA artists including Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
, Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
and Hank Locklin
Hank Locklin
Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter...
.
Launching the Nashville Brass
One evening Davis was in the office of his boss, Chet AtkinsChet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
. He decided to pitch Chet his idea of recording country songs with brass instruments. Davis was surprised when Atkins told him he thought it was a good idea. In fact, Davis told Atkins that the RCA label executives in New York had thought it was a "terrible idea." Atkins told Davis, "young fella, I run Nashville, go do it." The only suggestion Atkins made was instead of calling the group "Country Brass" he thought Davis should call it "Nashville Brass."
Davis immediately went to work on a demo. He chose Nashville arranger and fellow trumpeter, Bill McElhiney, to help create the sound of the Nashville Brass. The basic idea was to replace the vocalist with a brass ensemble (two to three trumpets, two trombones) playing over a standard country rhythm section (guitar, bass, drums, banjo).
For his recordings, Davis assembled a rhythm section of Nashville's "A" list musicians: Grady Martin
Grady Martin
Thomas Grady Martin was one of the most renowned, inventive and historically significant American session musicians in country music and rockabilly....
(guitar), Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
(piano), Bob Moore
Bob Moore
Bob Loyce Moore is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and bassist who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
(bass), Buddy Harmon (drums), Bobby Thompson (banjo), John Hartford
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
(banjo). When completed, Atkins hand carried the demo (Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light") to a meeting of RCA executives in California. In October 1968 the first album "The Nashville Brass Play The Nashville Sound" was released. The first album was followed by "The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds" in 1969.
Acceptance and success
With the release of the first two albums, the group quickly found an audience with music fans. Most important was the acceptance of the Country Music fans whom Davis had been told, "don't like horns." In 1970 the second album received the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Beginning in 1969 and continuing for the next five years Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass dominated the Country Music Association Awards Best Instrumental Group category. Over the years The group garnered eleven more Grammy nominations and received many other awards from recording industry publications and associations.Also in 1970 Davis changed his relationship with RCA in that he ceased to produce other artists so he could concentrate all his energies on the Nashville Brass.
Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass literally took Country Music around the world, being one of the first acts in the genre to have their own airplane (originally a DC-3 later a Martin 404, named "Lady Barbara" for Davis' wife). They were also one of the first Country acts to take the music to the Vegas strip working first as an opening act for Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
and later Kay Starr
Kay Starr
Kay Starr is an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 50s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz"....
, they soon returned to headline. The group also guest starred on many of the biggest television shows of the day including Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
and the show of his old friend, Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
.
In the 1980s Davis joined the cast of Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
as a member of the "Million Dollar Band" with fellow instrumentalists Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Roy Clark
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
(guitar), Charlie McCoy
Charlie McCoy
Charles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
(harmonica), Johnny Gimble (fiddle) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns
Kenneth C. Burns
Kenneth C. Burns was an American country musician, comedian, and mandolin player. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years with Henry D. Haynes as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro beginning in 1936.-Biography:Burns was born Conasauga, Tennessee on March 10, 1920...
(mandolin).
Davis and his group maintained a heavy touring schedule well into the 1990s. In the mid-90's Davis partnered with his old friend, Boots Randolph
Boots Randolph
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit, "Yakety Sax"...
, opening the Stardust Theater in Nashville (near the Opryland Hotel). The two performed shows nightly for a couple of years.
For the majority of his touring years, Davis retained on salary a fairly consistent personnel line-up. Among those musicians were: Bill Pippin (trumpet/flugelhorn/flute); Ray Carroll (trumpet/flugelhorn); Rex Peer (trombone); Phil Jones (bass trombone), Jones replaced the band's original bass trombonist, Frank Smith, after Smith's death in a car accident; Larry Morton (guitar); Chuck Sanders (bass); Terry Waddell (drums); Curtis McPeake (banjo).
Featured prominently on the 1971 album Somethin' Else was an electric sitar
Electric sitar
An electric sitar is a kind of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the traditional Indian instrument, the sitar. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional sitar...
, played by an unidentified individual. This was a first for the Nashville scene.
Davis and his group performed the theme song for the animated series Speed Racer
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
.
Farewell to public performing
Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass gave their final public performance on July 23, 2005 at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Georgia. Davis was eighty years old at the time. The group performed two shows and received standing ovations for each.Later years
After Davis retired from performing, he and his wife of fifty-seven years, Barbara continued to make Nashville their home. The couple has four children: Kerry, Kim, Gavin and Tara. Danny and former Nashville Brass trumpeter, Ray Carroll, began a mail-order business selling Nashville Brass recordings on the internet. Carroll continues to operate this enterprise. Also, at the time of his death Davis and writer Thom King had nearly completed an autobiography tentatively titled "Guess Who I Met Today."Death
Davis died on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at the age of 83 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Nashville, Tennessee on June 7, 2008.Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 1968 | The Nashville Brass Play The Nashville Sound | 33 | 78 | RCA |
| 1969 | The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds | 6 | 143 | |
| Movin On | 16 | 141 | ||
| 1970 | You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet | 9 | 102 | |
| Christmas with Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass | 11 | |||
| Down Homers | 11 | 140 | ||
| Hank Locklin & Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass | ||||
| 1971 | Somethin' Else | 12 | 161 | |
| Super Country | 25 | 184 | ||
| 1972 | Nashville Brass Turns to Gold | 25 | 202 | |
| Live in Person | 35 | |||
| Turn on Some Happy | 34 | 193 | ||
| 1973 | Travelin | |||
| Caribbean Cruise | 44 | |||
| 1974 | The Best of Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass | 22 | ||
| Danny Davis' Nashville Brass Bluegrass Country | 23 | |||
| Latest and Greatest | 34 | |||
| 1975 | Dream Country | 41 | ||
| Country Gold | 35 | |||
| 1976 | Texas | 43 | ||
| Supersongs | 46 | |||
| America 200 Years Young | ||||
| 1977 | Chet Floyd & Danny Chet Floyd & Danny Chet, Floyd & Danny is the title of a recording by Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Danny Davis. Davis was the creator of The Nashville Brass, which recorded country songs with brass instruments.... |
46 | ||
| Live! In Vegas | ||||
| 1978 | How I Love Them Ol' Songs | |||
| Cookin' Country | ||||
| 1979 | Great Songs of the Big Band Era | |||
| 1980 | Danny Davis & Willie Nelson with the Nashville Brass | 14 | 150 | |
| 1981 | Cotton Eyed Joe |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1970 | "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" (with Hank Locklin Hank Locklin Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter... ) |
68 | Hank Locklin & Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass | |
| "Wabash Cannon Ball"A | 63 | 3 | Movin' On | |
| "Flying South" (with Hank Locklin) | 56 | Hank Locklin & Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass | ||
| "Columbus Stockade Blues" | 70 | You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet | ||
| 1977 | "How I Love Them Old Songs" | 91 | How I Love Them Old Songs | |
| 1980 | "Night Life" (with Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized... ) |
20 | 9 | Danny Davis & Willie Nelson with the Nashville Brass |
| "Funny How Time Slips Away" (with Willie Nelson) | 41 | |||
| 1981 | "Colinda" | 59 | Cotton Eyed Joe | |
| 1985 | "I Dropped Your Name" | 82 | singles only | |
| 1987 | "Green Eyes (Cryin' Those Blue Tears)" (with Dona Mason) | 62 |
- AAlso peaked at #31 on Bubbling Under Hot 100.