Larry Totsy Davis

Larry "Totsy" Davis was born on December 4, 1936, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in England, a small Arkansas Delta town that shaped both the man and his music. He began playing professionally at fourteen, first on drums, then on bass, performing with blues harmonica player Sunny Blair in Little Rock. By the mid-1950s, he had formed a working partnership with guitarist Fenton Robinson, and the two became a fixture on the Little Rock club circuit, including The Flamingo on Ninth Street, where their sound caught the attention of blues legend Bobby Bland.

On Bland's recommendation, Davis signed with Houston-based Duke Records, an important blues and R&B label in America. In 1958, he recorded "Texas Flood," a slow-burning twelve-bar blues that became a regional hit and, decades later, a defining moment in American music history. Stevie Ray Vaughan discovered the song playing in blues clubs in Austin, Texas, and recorded it as the title track of his 1983 debut album. That album went platinum twice over and launched one of the most celebrated careers in blues rock history. 

After Duke Records, Davis relocated to St. Louis and spent years playing bass in Albert King's band, one of the most respected gigs in the blues world. He taught himself guitar during those years, developing a style rooted in King's influence that would define his solo work for decades to come. In 1972, a motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed on his left side, forcing him away from performing. He came back.

By the early 1980s, Davis had returned to recording. His 1981 Rooster Blues album, Funny Stuff, produced by Oliver Sain, showcased the full depth of his voice and command of guitar. In 1982, he won four W.C. Handy Awards, the blues equivalent of a Grammy, a recognition that placed him among the highest tier of American blues artists. He went on to record for Pulsar, Black and Blue, and Bullseye Blues, and earned a devoted following in Europe and Japan, touring internationally and performing at major blues festivals worldwide.

In the early 1990s, Davis was diagnosed with cancer. He died on April 19, 1994, in Los Angeles, at age 57, when many in the blues world believed his best work was still ahead of him.

His trail marker stands in England, Arkansas, the community that gave him his roots and his voice.