Minnesota soul singer Wanda Davis shares career story
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NEW ULM, Minn. -- Soul singer Wanda Davis visited the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame (MMHF) last Saturday to talk about her career and watch a preview of a documentary made about her.
The film, “Before the Purple Lights,” was made by Neal Bond for the Minnesota Music History Channel. It is an episode in the channel’s Legends series scheduled for release on YouTube on Nov. 9. The episode documents the soul and rhythm and blues scene in North Minneapolis in the 1960s that predated the Minneapolis Sound of the late 1970s.
Davis traveled from Dallas with her husband, Samuel Riley, and family members including her daughter and sister. She lived in Minnesota during the late 1960s and early 1970s before moving to Texas.
Davis was born in Three Point, Louisiana. She said she grew up singing at home on the porch with her brothers and sisters and in church and school choirs. Her family included eight children, five girls and three boys. Three sisters remain.
“My mother had a beautiful voice, and I would listen to her singing the gospel when I was little,” Davis said.
She said her family migrated to Minnesota because an uncle lived here after serving in the military. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she performed at Twin Cities venues including the Cozy Bar on Plymouth Avenue in Minneapolis and Dirty Gertie’s in St. Paul.
“We didn’t have a booking there, we’d just be there,” Davis said. “Every time we looked around, it was Dirty Gertie’s.”
Davis recorded a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Save Me” for Project Soul Records in 1970. The single included “Take Care” on the B-side. The record later became a collector’s item. Original copies have sold online for more than $1,000.
Davis said she did not think of it as a career at the time.
“I was just enjoying myself, singing,” Davis said. “I love to sing. And I was singing with this band and I wasn’t thinking about anything. Just having fun.”
Her family said her recording career was largely unknown to them for decades.
“I never knew all the years we were married,” Riley said. “She never talked about it.”
Her daughter said the family learned about her music after collectors in Europe tracked Davis down in the early 2010s. Collectors believed she was deceased before learning she was living in Texas. The interest led to a connection with Secret Stash Records in Minneapolis.
Secret Stash co-founder Eric Frost invited Davis back to Minnesota to perform at a release show at First Avenue in 2012 for the label’s compilation. It marked her return to the stage after more than 40 years. Frost was at the Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Riley described the 2012 show. He said he was standing in the audience recording when Davis began to sing.
“As soon as she opened her mouth, everybody just turned around,” Riley said.
Her daughter said she saw Davis perform professionally for the first time at the Minnesota State Fair in 2017.
“I am looking at all these people, and when she comes out, they’re just in tears,” her daughter said. “I’ve never seen my mom perform professionally.”
Frost said Davis is recording again with Secret Stash. He said musicians laid down instrumental tracks for three new songs Friday in a Minneapolis studio, with vocal sessions scheduled for Sunday.
He said the songs will include additional arrangements and will likely not be released this year due to manufacturing and distribution timelines.
“When Wanda does it Wanda’s way without giving it any thought, that’s where the magic is,” Frost said.
During Saturday’s presentation, Davis answered questions about recording in the 1970s. She said her session for “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” was done in one take with the band jamming together.
“Everybody just jammed together,” Davis said.
Frost said the sessions were recorded with live musicians in a small room, without autotune or overdubs.
Bond said the Legends series at the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame documents artists who performed in Minnesota clubs and studios in the 1960s and 1970s.
Davis said she still sings occasionally in Texas, continuing a habit from childhood.
“It was always music in the house,” Davis said.