MD: And I said “Huh?” He said “If I ever hear you say that again, Melvin, I’ll be finished with you!” And he was like 83 years old and he played piano with Eubie Blake, he played with everybody, he played back in the Roaring Twenties and he was telling me if he had to listen to half the people that told him he wasn’t gonna make it or to quit, he said he would’ve quit playing, he said, “I want you to learn from your friend, Ann Ruttgert.” Ann Ruttgert used to tell me “Don’t let anybody become a wet blanket in your life.” She used to say: “You see your fingers are gone and they put ‘em back and they’re not working so good. Well, anybody who focuses in on that and not your real talent are wet blankets, and wet blankets are anybody who snuffs your fire out.”
Smitty: Cleverly said!
MD: I’d never heard of that. So I learned from that. Right after that is when my brother Benson….incidentally, brother Benson and I are Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we both try to live as close of an example to the God in the heavens as we can. We’re not perfect. Nobody is, you know, except the Christ, but I really do go through life trying to help my brothers and help my sisters, and I try to carry a big heart and you do have to care for your neighbor before you do for yourself, we really do need to do that, and I found out by doing that, putting God first, all good things come to you.
Smitty: Yes, that’s very admirable. Well, speaking of George Benson, he had something very special to say about you. I’d like to just read the quote that he said about you. He said “Mel Davis has been the man to call to fill any organ or keyboard gig in the greater New York area. He has appeared on some of my recordings with a characteristic sound all his own. This powerful musician and friend deserves his place in the sun.” You know, that’s quite a quote from someone who is truly a magnificent musician himself and to recognize that in you.
MD: Oh yeah, he’s my big brother, man, and for you to notice that, that shows me where you are and GB often told me “You’re gonna find some guys out there, Mel, who are gonna like you and then you’re gonna find some who aren’t,” and he said “I don’t know the formula for success, but I do know the formula for failure.” So I said “Well, what’s that, GB?” He said “Trying to please everybody.”
Smitty: He’s right. I must say that you have been a true formula for success in that all of the things that you’ve had to endure and yet you continue to do what you love in your own personal life as well as with the music, and I think it’s beautiful and it resonates in this great new project of yours because when I listen to the title track, I can feel so much love, a lot of energy, and a lot of what you love to do, and I must say that a lot of these tracks….I love them all….and you spoke of “Heavyweight”?
MD: Yes.
Smitty: What a great rendition of “Heavyweight” that you did.
MD: Oh, thank you.
Smitty: Yes, and all the musicians that accompanied you on that track as well, and I especially love Mr. Earl Grace. What a drummer!
MD: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Smitty: He is a magnificent drummer.
MD: Isn’t he something?
Smitty: Yes indeed. And I love “Cordon Bleu,” the Joe Sample song. What a great song.
MD: Yeah, that was Ronny’s idea because I’d never heard of it, but Ronny said about ten years ago in London there was a guitar song that everybody played, even the organ players played it, but nobody ever recorded it, and it was ‘Cordon Bleu’ by Joe Sample.
Smitty: Yeah, well, you know something, Mel? I’m really amazed at the talent of musicians playing the organ, and there’s something about the New Jersey organ players. I mean, you’re from Paterson, New Jersey. I know of another great organ player in Rahway, New Jersey. His name is Joe Kurasz.
MD: Yeah, yeah, Joe is mean!
Smitty: Yeah, and I’m telling ya, I see a resurgence of the organ in the style that you’re talking about because when I listen to people like you and Joe featuring the organ as a lead instrument, it’s such a sophisticated, nice funky vibe and it’s one that makes people wanna get up and dance, it makes ‘em feel good, and it’s something that really just sort of resonates throughout the body when that organ starts to really crank up and you really hit your rhythm stride with it. I think it’s just a beautiful instrument and I wish that more people in the industry would pay attention to this great instrument because it has so much to offer. The Hammond B3 as a lead instrument is so powerful.
MD: Oh yeah, oh yeah, and I really, really was amazed to know that I was on the right track when GB won those two Grammys last week.
Smitty: Yes
MD: And my album was much like his, where it gave you a big variety of music from the first cut to “God Bless the Child” to “Breezin’” and then a swing thing with Patti Austin (“Let It Rain”), and then they did “Bring It On Home To Me” with Paul McCartney. Every track on that CD was different.
Smitty: Yes indeed, and beautiful.
