Tyrone Davis

• Genre: Soul
• Hometown: Chicago

About

A class act with a comfortable voice, Davis plays the wounded lover-man role with a hint of good-ole-southern-boy innocence mixed in. From the spoken pleading of "Can I Change My Mind" to the feel-good danceabilty of mid-tempo numbers like "Turn Back the Hands of Time," the Mississippi-bred, Chicago-based singer got it consistently "right" throughout his 1968-1976 stint with the Dakar label. He fronted a sharp band featuring not-too-sweet string arrangements and on-the-money horn charts, eventually landing a deal with CBS/Columbia in the late '70s. The inevitable slickening-up has occurred since, but his vocals have at least maintained the old balance of grit and finesse. Still, it's tough to beat those early records.

- Will York