Little Sammy Davis was born in Winona, Mississippi, on November 28, 1928. After learning to play the harmonica as a child, he traveled across the country performing with various blues artists for several decades before settling in Poughkeepsie, New York. In the early 1990s, Davis enjoyed a resurgence in fame and began touring again, recording his first album, I Ain’t Lyin (1996). Around this time he traveled to Woodstock where he was introduced to Levon Helm. The two became friends and Davis began performing at Helm’s legendary “Midnight Ramble” shows in Woodstock and touring with Helm as a member of the Levon Helm Band.
Little Sammy Davis died on February 16, 2018.
#1: Still frame from interview with Little Sammy Davis; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Still frame from Levon Helm Band concert; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Still frame from Levon Helm Band concert; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
