Proceeds go directly to the W.O. Smith Music School and
provide instruments and lessons for underprivileged children.
Ron Davies was a genius of rhyme and melody. He has been called “the quintessential poet” and “the songwriter’s writer” by his peers. John Hadley (professor of music at Oklahoma State University) was once quoted as saying, “I separate the world into two kinds of people, the ones that get Ron Davies and the ones that don’t.”
Ron’s career received a major boost in 1970 when Three Dog Night recorded his song “It Ain’t Easy” and made it the title of their album. Although often miscredited to Ray Davies from The Kinks (Ron displayed his wry sense of humor when he asked his publisher to take some of The Kinks out of his copyright), “It Ain’t Easy” gained international fame when a British artist by the name of David Bowie recorded it on his RCA album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.
It wasn’t long before Ron Davies’ songs were in demand and being recorded by such iconic artists as Long John Baldry, Dave Edmunds, Joe Cocker, Anne Murray, Dobie Gray, Bettye LaVette, Chris Smithers, Glenn Yarbrough, Merry Clayton, Mitch Ryder and Steppenwolf’s John Kay, to name a few. Australian born pop singer Helen Reddy recorded what would later become one of Ron’s signature songs entitled “Long Hard Climb” and made it the title of her 1973 platinum selling album. This song was also recorded by Maria Muldaur on her 1974 Reprice album Midnight On The Oasis.
With his newfound success, A&M decided to team Ron up with Grammy award winning engineer, Tommy Vicarri, to co-produce his second album, UFO. Enlisting the help of musicians Billy Preston, Wilton Felder, Andy Newmark, and The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar” girl Claudia Lennear, they created a critically acclaimed masterpiece that prompted Rock Magazine to declare Ron Davies “The Best New Songwriter of the Year.”
Ron moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1985 to write for Cedarwood Publishing and later on in his career for Warner/Chappell Music. His talents were quickly recognized when Jerry Jeff Walker recorded “The Man He Used To Be” and two of his songs appeared on the Grammy nominated Joan Baez album Play Me Backwards. Ron Davies’ songs have also been recorded by Randy Travis, Nancy Griffith, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill and Gail Davies, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chris Scruggs and Jack White and The Raconteurs.
Although not a professional actor, Ron Davies was cast as the lead character in the George Jones’ video, Cold Hard Truth, in 1999. He toured Europe with his sister, country singer Gail Davies, in 2002 and also appeared with her at The Kerrville Folk Festival. Inspired by the reaction he received from the audience (Ron was given a standing ovation at the end of his performance) Ron returned to Nashville to record an introspective album entitled Where Does The Time Go. Sadly, this would be the last album that Ron would record. He died of a heart attack on October 30, 2003, leaving behind an amazing legacy of more than 600 songs.
Unsung Hero – A Tribute To The Music of Ron Davies, features 22 of Ron’s finest compositions recorded by some of his favorite artists. This album is a must for any serious connoisseur of good music and poetry…
Track Listing:
1. ONE MORE NIGHT WITH YOU
2. WHAT GOOD IS A SECRET
3. IT’S TOO LATE
4. DARK EYED GAL
5. IT AIN’T EASY
6. HAVE TO COME DOWN
7. SAY IT WITH MONEY
8. LONG HARD CLIMB
9. STAYED AWAY TOO LONG
10. TRUE LOVERS AND FRIENDS
11. HEY HONEY I’M HOME
12. STEAL ACROSS THE BORDER
13. LET IT SLIDE
14. BACK TO THE SOUTH
15. MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY
16. INNOCENT EYES
17. I’M SAVING IT UP FOR YOU
18. WALK AND DON’T WALK
19. JUST THE WAY IT GOES
20. GOOD LOVE AFTER BAD
21. THE MAN HE USED TO BE
22. LAY MY BODY DOWN
