Today I’m saddened to hear of the passing of local Blues Legend, Governor Davis. He was always so cool, entertaining and genuinely a nice guy. I first met him about 30 years ago when I worked at Music Today in downtown Anderson, IN. Whenever Gov would come in, it was always like a rockstar was in the building. We’d all gather around, talk & laugh with him and listen to his stories.
Back then, Gov wasn’t as established as a Blues guy. He played a lot of classic rock gigs at bars around his home town of Muncie. I went to Ball State and lived in Muncie as well so I got to see him often and usually would sit in on a few tunes when I showed up at his gigs. I can remember jamming with him near the campus at The Chug, and at a really wild, Sig-Ep Fraternity party, and then again in later years at the Slippery Noodle in Indy. It was always a great time.
My favorite thing about Gov was the way he said my name. I can remember replaying an answering machine message from him about a hundred times and laughing like mad before realizing that he wasn’t mispronouncing Kevin… he just thought my name was Calvin. I didn’t care, I was just happy he called me to come and jam. From that day on, that was my name as far as Governor Davis was concerned.
Gov was always quite a showman. His suit game was very tight and he always looked the part of a Blues man on stage, singing his heart out and playing guitar with his teeth. I hadn’t seen him in years and I sure wish I could have had the chance to jam with him one more time.
Rest In Peace Gov. You will be missed by all who knew you!
Your old friend,
Calvin.
Make Some Noise 