Danny Davis

Danny Davis helped bring brass instruments into the string-heavy realm of country music, prompting Buck Owens to launch the Bakersfield Brass while shaping the sounds of Ray Pennington, Buddy Emmons, and Merle Haggard. Born George Nowlan in Dorchester, Massachusetts, he dreamed of playing horn during his high-school years. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and, at fourteen, performed as a soloist with the Massachusetts All State Symphony Orchestra. In 1940 he entered the band led by jazz drummer Gene Krupa, sharing stages with leading figures of the jazz and swing period such as Bobby Byrne, Bob Crosby, and Art Mooney. After departing Krupa’s group he took a chair in Vincent Lopez’s orchestra at New York’s Astor Hotel, remaining with Lopez for an extended stretch while also appearing alongside Blue Barron and Sammy Kaye. In 1958 Davis turned to record production, first at Joy and then at MGM, where he oversaw six chart-topping singles for Connie Francis. A Nashville visit introduced him to Fred Rose and Chet Atkins; Atkins offered him a production-assistant role, and by 1965 Davis had risen to executive A&R producer alongside Atkins. Late in the decade Davis proposed to Atkins that brass be added to country arrangements. Atkins approved, giving rise to the Nashville Brass. Their debut album, The Nashville Brass Featuring Danny Davis Play Nashville Sounds, appeared in 1968 to modest attention. The follow-up, More Nashville Sounds, arrived the next year and drew wider notice. A fresh Grammy field, Best Country Instrumental Performance, was established for the ensemble, while the CMA named them Instrumental Group or Band of the Year five consecutive times. Recording has continued without interruption since 1969. Davis also joined forces with other country figures: the 1977 album Chet, Floyd and Danny paired him with Atkins and Floyd Cramer, and a 1980 collaboration with Willie Nelson yielded the Top 50 singles “Night Life” and “Funny How Time Slips Away.” Shortly afterward Davis exited RCA to issue recordings on his own Wartrace imprint. The Nashville Brass still perform regularly in Las Vegas, Nevada, Branson, Missouri, and on television.