Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer

Blind Gary Davis — Harlem Street Singer

The Bluesville Series from Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds!

Inspired by the original Prestige label imprint established in 1959

All-analog mastering by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab at Blue Heaven Studios!

180-gram vinyl pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Highlighting trailblazing blues musicians from legendary labels

"Craft Recordings launched Bluesville Records to shine a light on their vast blues catalog, including a reissue series in partnership with Acoustic Sounds ... Three of the albums that have appeared sinch the launching of the Bluesville reissue series feature solo performances by artists who play acoustic guitar and sing a combination of original material and cover songs. ... Born in Laurens, South Carolina in 1896, Blind Gary Davis made his first records in the 1930s. ... Davis recorded Harlem Street Singer in 1960 for Prestige's Bluesville imprint. ... It's one thing to perform in front of a room full of enthusiastic parishoners and another to exude the same spirit in a recording studio, but Harlem Street Singer bristles with live-in-the-studio energy. Davis can be an aggressive guitarist, yet his voice sometimes threatens to overpower his guitar work, and it's interesting to imagine Rudy Van Gelder behind the boards in his studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on August 24, 1960, when this album was recorded. Harlem Street Singer is also essential." — Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, July/August 2025

"Reverend Gary Davis, also known as 'Blind' Gary Davis ... (a) self-taught guitarist and banjo player, blind from birth ... appeared at the inaugural Newport Folk Festival in 1959, and Harlem Street Singer appeared the following year. The album was recorded in a single three-hour session  by American recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder and features 12 of Davis' best-known spirituals. ... Harlem Street Singer reminds us of Reverend Gary Davis' power as a singer and his inventiveness as a guitarist, as well as his lyrical ability to get down to the point about his view of human nature in his songs." — Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Living Blues, November 2024

Harlem Street Singer is Blind Gary Davis' 1960 album, originally released on Prestige Records' Bluesville imprint. The album features a combination of Davis-penned tracks, including "Death Don't Have No Mercy," and standards such as "Sampson and Delilah." AllMusic declared that the album is "essential listening for fans of country blues or gospel." This reissue is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings with a replica paper-wrapped tip-on jacket.

 

 

Side 1

1. Samson And Delilah

2. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here

3. I Belong To The Band

4. Pure Religion

5. Great Change Since I Been Born

6. Death Don’t Have No Mercy

Side 2

1. Twelve Gates To The City

2. Goin’ To Sit Down On The Banks Of The River

3. Tryin’ To Get Home

4. Lo, I Be With You Always

5. I Am The Light Of This World

6. Lord, I Feel Just Like Goin’ On

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