Jesse Ed Davis Washita Love Child - Douglas K Miller

 

I have been (knowingly) a fan of Jesse Ed Davis’ since seeing him play with Taj Mahal on The Rolling Stones Rock’n’Roll Circus. His original-sounding, cutting, Telecaster leads on Taj’s number are not overly flashy, but strike home perfectly - a sign of a true talent.

Apparently, this book has been a while in the making, but was just released at the beginning of 2024, so I must have heard about it not long after its release. Miller had previously written more generally about Native Americans but, as a musician himself, wanted to hone in on Davis’ contributions to modern music. I can’t find Miller’s age anywhere, but apparently, he wasn’t even born during Davis’ musical hey-day, which should make for an interesting perspective.

Funnily, given the more obscure nature of Davis' music in general, I thought that this would be a quick read, but it is also over a thousand pages! But, as I get started on the meat of the book I discover why - Miller gives a history or Native Americans (including Davis' ancestors) going back centuries. Interesting in a general sense, but not necessarily the reason why I picked up this book.

Eventually we get to Jesse and his upper-middle-class upbringing in a musical household that encouraged his endeavors. Unlike some musicians, Jesse was also a jock at school and did well scholastically, at least until music overtook his desire to do much of anything else. He played in local combos, as one does, although in Oklahoma (which I was totally unaware of) many of the players went on to become huge stars in their own right. Jesse's first big break was playing guitar with Conway Twitty, of all people, although Jesse was already a fan and studied the playing of his predecessor in the band.

Once he moved to LA, he hooked up with the Tulsa, OK crew at Leon Russell’s pad and eventually caught the eyes and ears of Taj Mahal and spent several years with him. This book quotes Duane Allman as saying that Jesse’s slide playing with Taj is what influenced him to pick up his Coricidin bottle. He worked with innumerable stars, put out some solo records and played an impressive amount of quality sessions, from jazz to “Doctor My Eyes” to “High Time We Went” and more than can be listed.

After several solo albums that went nowhere and lots more session work (including a couple tunes with Leon and Bob Dylan), Jesse spent some time with John Lennon and became part of his band that recorded Rock’n’Roll and Walls and Bridges. Unfortunately for Jesse, that didn’t last and he floundered, looking for direction.

I absolutely do NOT remember Jesse joining the Faces, even for a short while, but apparently he did. After that fell apart, Jesse kind of fell apart, as well, and the following decades are depressing due to infinite lost chances due to drug and alcohol dependency. So many stars from the 60’s and 70’s suffered from the same fate after their hey-day - bad decisions, bad choices, bad health, bad (or no) management, and drugs and/or alcohol running and ruining their lives. I always think that I wouldn’t have made those terrible decisions, but I was also never in that kind of limelight, so who knows… And, as with so many others, Jesse succumbed to his addiction and died by an overdose in a laundry room of a friend's apartment, while waiting for the person to come home. A truly ignoble death...

I certainly learned a lot about Jesse here and he has some fascinating escapades, and worked with some of the biggest names in the business, but the decades of sadness and depression overtake any joy in the story. But, glad that someone has told the tale of this talented Indigenous artist.