CHIP DAVIS: Finally, Nashville Has A Voice

By PHIL SWEETLAND — Country Music & Radio contributor, The New York Times; Publisher & Owner of Country Insider, the Weekly E-newsletter of Country Radio

NASHVILLE — In the Radio and music business, we hear thousands of new and wannabe artists every year. It comes with the territory.

But once in a great, great while, we hear a Sinatra, a Dwight Yoakam, a Kurt Cobain, a Notorious B.I.G., a Patsy, that voice that stops traffic, that voice that sells millions, that voice that lights up listener request lines at your station like a Christmas tree.

Such is the voice of Chip Davis, who for years has been Nashville’s best-kept secret as Music Row’s most in-demand demo singer.

Now, the legendary Davis Brothers who so far we’ve only heard singing on other artist’s records, on hugely expensive bootlegs, and on hard-to-find sides, have finally stepped out on their own. Chip and his producer/songwriter/guitarist/arranger Billy Davis have teamed up to give us the eponymous Chip Davis album, which every Music Row label should pounce on as a possible release.

Why?

There’s a simple answer: Put the CD which came with this package in your CD player. Put it on at peak volume. Put on your headphones or crank it up, and just listen.

Once you’ve entered that aural world, you’ll hear fresh, original tunes such as Track 1 {The Blind Sparrow}, my girlfriend’s personal favorite Track 2 {Nothing Keeps You from His Love}, and Track 11 {God Save Us All from Religion} and you can at last hear the Voice and the Production we’ve all been missing at Radio for the last 10 years.

And one question we’re often asked about Chip and Billy: Is the music Country? Or is it Christian? There’s an easy answer, and one your listeners will notice right away: The music of Chip and Billy Davis is both Country AND Christian, just as the work of Carrie Underwood {Jesus, Take The Wheel}, Josh Turner {Me And God}, and particularly the evergreen Randy Travis {Three Wooden Crosses} have been in recent months; and as you recall, every one of those singles was a smash and every one was played in Heavy Rotation for months at your stations.

So listen away, then get ready for your listener request lines to ignite wild like a blazing inferno. Chip Davis is the real deal and in a world of imitators and wannabe singers, he will in many ways be a salvation we so desperately need in a world gone mad.