Rick Davies facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rick Davies
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Davies, 1979
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| Birth name | Richard Davies |
| Born | 22 July 1944 Swindon, Wiltshire, England |
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| Years active | 1956–present |
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Richard Davies, born on July 22, 1944, is a talented English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is most famous for starting the rock band Supertramp. Rick Davies was the only member who stayed with the band from the very beginning until the end. He wrote many of Supertramp's popular songs. These include "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "From Now On", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "My Kind of Lady", "Cannonball" and "I'm Beggin' You". People often know him for his cool blues piano solos and jazz-style rock music.
From Supertramp's first album in 1970, Davies shared singing duties with Roger Hodgson. Hodgson was also a songwriter for the band. After Hodgson left in 1983, Davies became the main singer for Supertramp. Davies has a deeper voice than Hodgson. He often sings with a rough, low voice. But sometimes, he sings in a higher voice, like on "Goodbye Stranger" and "My Kind of Lady".
Rick Davies' Early Life and Music Journey
Growing Up in England
Richard Davies was born in Swindon, England, in 1944. His mom, Betty, was a hairdresser, and his dad, Dick, worked in the navy. Rick's dad passed away in 1973. Rick went to Sanford Street School. His mom said that music was the only thing he was really good at in school.
Discovering Drums and Piano
When Rick was eight, his parents gave him an old record player. It had some records left by the person who owned it before. One of these records was Drummin' Man by a famous drummer named Gene Krupa. Rick said it felt like a "thunderbolt" when he heard it. He played it over and over again! A family friend even made him a drum set from a biscuit tin.
At age 12, Rick joined a band that played brass instruments. He played the snare drum. He loved the sound of drums marching in parades. He took drum lessons and was very serious about it. He thought being a real drummer would be his life's path. But then, he started trying out keyboards. People seemed to like his keyboard playing more than his drumming. So, he decided to focus on keyboards. Rick never had lessons for keyboards. His mom said he taught himself most of what he knows about music.
First Bands and New Skills
By 1959, Rick was really into rock 'n' roll music. He joined a band called Vince and the Vigilantes. In 1962, while studying art in college, he started his own band called Rick's Blues. He was now playing an electric piano instead of drums. For a while, Gilbert O'Sullivan played drums in Rick's Blues. Gilbert later became a famous musician himself. He even said that Rick taught him everything about music.
When Rick's dad got sick, Rick stopped his band and left college. He got a job as a welder. This meant his dreams of being an artist had to wait for a bit.
In 1966, Rick became the organ player for a band called The Lonely Ones. He later admitted he wasn't very good at the organ then, but he learned quickly! This band later changed its name to The Joint. They even recorded music for some German movies. While the band was in Germany, Rick met a rich man named Stanley August Miesegaes. Stanley offered to help Rick financially if he started a new music group.
Supertramp: A Band's Journey
Forming Supertramp
Rick decided to form a new band. He went back home from Switzerland and put an ad in a music magazine in August 1969. Roger Hodgson came to audition. Even though Rick came from a working-class family and Roger went to a private school, they became friends right away. They started writing almost all their songs together. The band was first called Daddy, but they changed the name to Supertramp in January 1970.
Supertramp was one of the first bands to sign with a new record company called A&M Records in the UK. By the summer of 1970, they had recorded their first album, simply called Supertramp. Roger Hodgson sang most of the main vocals on this first album. But by their second album, Indelibly Stamped, Davies started singing more. He and Hodgson shared the main singing parts equally.
Finding Success
For five years, Davies and Hodgson were the main members of Supertramp, but other band members changed often. Then, Supertramp found a steady group of musicians. They recorded Crime of the Century. This album finally brought them success in 1974. It became very popular in the UK. Even though their single songs weren't huge hits, their albums always did well on the music charts.
Rick Davies's and Roger Hodgson's friendship started to change. They began writing most of their songs separately again. However, they agreed to share the credit for all songs as "Davies/Hodgson." Some songs that were actually written only by Davies include the hits "Bloody Well Right" and "Goodbye Stranger".
Moving to America and Big Hits
By 1977, the band had moved to the United States. There, they recorded their best-selling album, Breakfast in America. This happened between April 1978 and February 1979. The sound engineer, Peter Henderson, said that Davies and Hodgson got along "fantastically well" during the long months of recording. Davies is also credited with writing a part of Hodgson's song "The Logical Song".
Breakfast in America had more hit songs than their first five albums combined! It reached number three in the UK and was number one in America.
Supertramp After Hodgson
Roger Hodgson left Supertramp in 1983. Rick Davies's friendship with him had become difficult. The band's last hit before Hodgson left was "My Kind of Lady". Hodgson didn't do much writing or performing on this song. "My Kind of Lady" showed off Davies's amazing singing range. He sang in a deep voice, a very high voice, and his usual rough, low voice.
With Davies leading the way, Supertramp went back to a more complex rock sound. They released the album Brother Where You Bound and had another hit song called "Cannonball". The band kept touring and recording for five more years. Then, they decided to stop, agreeing that Supertramp had run its course.
Reunions and Health
In 1997, Rick Davies was working on his first solo album. But then, he decided to bring Supertramp back together. The band started recording and touring again. They released two more studio albums before splitting up once more. Supertramp reunited in 2010 for a tour. A tour was planned for 2015, but it was canceled because Davies was battling a health issue called multiple myeloma.
In August 2018, Rick Davies gave a rare interview. He said that he had mostly recovered from his health problems. He was enjoying playing music again, which he couldn't do around 2016. Davies later played some songs with Supertramp's current members under the name Ricky and the Rockets. However, he also said it was unlikely that they would ever perform as Supertramp again. Ricky and the Rockets played another show on June 10, 2022.
Rick Davies' Personal Life
Rick Davies married Sue in 1977. Sue has been Supertramp's manager since 1984.
Davies's mother passed away in late 2008. She was living in a nursing home in England. Rick used to travel from his home in Long Island, New York, every Christmas to visit her. His last trip back was in January 2009 to plan a memorial service for his mom.
Davies now owns Rick Davies Productions. This company holds the copyrights for Supertramp's music recordings.
Supertramp Albums
- 1970 : Supertramp
- 1971 : Indelibly Stamped
- 1974 : Crime of the Century
- 1975 : Crisis? What Crisis?
- 1977 : Even in the Quietest Moments...
- 1979 : Breakfast in America
- 1982 : ...Famous Last Words...
- 1985 : Brother Where You Bound
- 1987 : Free as a Bird
- 1997 : Some Things Never Change
- 2002 : Slow Motion
Collaborations
- 1973 : You And Me from Chick Churchill - Rick Davies worked on this with Roger Hodgson, Cozy Powell, Gary Pickford-Hopkins and Martin Barre.
See also
In Spanish: Rick Davies para niños
