Harlem Street Singer
Studio album by
Blind Gary Davis
ReleasedDecember 1960
RecordedAugust 24, 1960
StudioVan Gelder (Englewood Cliffs)
Genre
Length42:54
LabelBluesville
ProducerKenneth S. Goldstein
Blind Gary Davis chronology
American Street Songs
(1956)		 Harlem Street Singer
(1960)		 A Little More Faith
(1961)

Harlem Street Singer is a studio album by the American gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Gary Davis, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label in December of that year. It features perhaps his best-known song "Death Don't Have No Mercy".[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[3]

Harlem Street Singer was met with critical acclaim. According to the journalist and Davis biographer Ian Zack, it proved to be "Davis's masterpiece and one of the most breathtaking recordings of the folk era", with "Rudy Van Gelder's pristine engineering capturing Davis's stellar guitar work and impassioned singing like lightning in a box".[1] AllMusic reviewer Matt Fink later said, "Davis laid down 12 of his most impassioned spirituals for Harlem Street Singer ... Overall, the collection is well worth the purchase and should be considered essential listening for fans of country blues or gospel".[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Gary Davis except where noted

  1. "Samson and Delilah" (Traditional) – 4:02
  2. "Let Us Get Together" – 3:08
  3. "I Belong to the Band" – 2:54
  4. "Pure Religion" (Traditional) – 2:57
  5. "Great Change Since I Been Born" – 4:03
  6. "Death Don't Have No Mercy" – 4:41
  7. "Twelve Gates to the City" (Traditional) – 3:08
  8. "Goin' to Sit Down on the Banks of the River" – 2:55
  9. "Tryin' to Get Home" – 3:46
  10. "Lo I Be With You Always" – 4:17
  11. "I Am the Light of the World" – 3:34
  12. "I Feel Just Like Goin' On" – 3:29[2]

Personnel

Performance

Production

References

  1. 1 2 Zack, Ian (2015). Say No to the Devil: The Life and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis. University of Chicago Press. pp. 124, 127. ISBN 022623410X.
  2. 1 2 3 Fink, Matt. Rev. Gary Davis: Harlem Street Singer – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  3. ↑ Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
  4. 1 2 "Harlem Street Singer - Rev. Gary Davis | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
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