Soundtrack To My Life: Roy Davis Jr.

The house legend and "Gabriel" hit-maker runs us through his favourite tracks of all time.

The latest artist to be grilled in our Soundtrack To My Life series is Roy Davis Jr., the famed house producer from Chicago whose '90s hit gem, "Gabriel"—featuring the soul flow of Peven Everett—you'll most likely know word-for-word if you're an avid raver or festival-goer. This track has become the theme tune to many of my own comedowns, come-ups and everything in between, and its slow-rolling groove continues to impact our fun-filled summer days. Selling over 200,000 copies of the widely-loved single in 1996 (via XL Recordings), "Gabriel" is Roy Davis Jr.'s biggest hit to date but, as he explains, it's not something that he's ever tried to out-do. "I've never tried to top it because it is what it is," he says. "It's a special gift to us all. It was a vibe and a feeling, and my music has continued to be that way ever since I began. I feel very proud and blessed to have played an important role in the house and garage scenes and to have truly made a mark." 

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And he continues to make his mark by working with a variety of artists, ranging from Daft Punk to Faith Evans to Eric Benet and Seal. Having started out making beats and A&R-scouting in the early '80s—house music's baby years—enquiring minds want to know: has Roy's opinion changed on the fist-pumping-thumping genre of now? "Well, today is a good time for new music and to also brighten the minds to a more classic sound as well," he says. "I'm loving it today just as much as yesterday; it's being blasted from country to country, and is able to let loose with a variety of sounds." In the run-up to his set at Belguim's WECANDANCE festival on August 13-14 (where we should "expect the unexpected"), Complex sits with the legend for a rundown of his favourite, most-loved tracks of all time.

 

Bob Marley — "Buffalo Soldier"

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"Growing up to Bob Marley & The Wailers was just a part of growing up in Chicago Heights. Hearing my uncle Benny playing the Rhodes keyboard in the basement to this song just brings back so many barbecue moments where we all gathered around each other playing congas as a kid."

Stevie Wonder — "Visions"

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"This is one of my all-time favourites of Stevie's. Listening to him sing songs and describe some of the earth's beauty, being a spirit that is blind but can paint a picture clear as day with his lyrics, still amazes me today."

Yolanda Adams & The Southeast Inspirational Choir — "My Liberty"

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"People always want to know where I got a lot of my soul came from. It came from growing up in church, hearing my mother and aunt Cora playing these types of songs on the piano and Hammond B3 with the choir every Sabbath and uplifting my soul to a higher plane."

Billy Paul — "War Of The Gods"

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"This record here was one of those records sitting in the pile of records next to the turntable hi-fi system. I never saw or heard my pops play it before, but it kept starring at me in the face every so often, till one day I said: 'This record looks so weird! Let me just see what this is.' It was like picking up a book and finding out it was full of knowledge and wisdom but people were afraid to read it because they knew that their life was going to change once they read it. That's what was up with this record; Billy Paul didn't play around with the message he was trying to get across."

Chuck Mangione — "Children Of Sanchez"

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"Chuck Mangione was just one of those musicians and artists that always struck a chord in my heart when I heard those Latin guitars playing. He made a few well-known classicS, ones such as 'Feels So Good'. I chose this one because once it got to the meat of the melodies he was trying to share with his horn, playing it just stuck in my brain for days in and days outI'm just vibing!"

Curtis Mayfield — "The Makings Of You"

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"Back in the day, this song was just like an anthem played in my crib on repeat. Well, at that time, any song that Curtis made was on automatic pilot growing up as a '70s kid. He always had something important to say to encourage you."

Howard Johnson — "So Fine"

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"Coming from Miami and moving to New York to make his career, Howard Johnson came up with a few funky bass line tracks that was killer on any system, which established him after that point. I remember driving in the car with my cousin, and every time we saw a nice honey we would turn this song up on the radio to make sure the girls heard it [laughs]. Being afraid to talk to girls at that particular age, we just let this song do the talking."

Carly Simon — "Why"

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"This was one of those Chic production tracks that just worked at the time, despite the sad subject matter of Why does your love hurt so much? with a tinge of a reggae twist to it. '80s all day!"

Gang Starr — "Moment Of Truth"

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"Guru is one of my favourite MCs of all time! Rest in peace to him. You could never go wrong with DJ Premier and Gang Starr; it was just pure quality on this record. A classic one, at that."

Terry Callier — "What Color Is Love"

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"Terry Callier is a true Chicago legend. He worked with Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield, and is known for his 'Love Theme To Spartacus' record to most who ever indulged in Chicago soul music. He was a man of true wisdom, and I had the opportunity to work right beside his genius later on in life. The story behind this guy for me that made me a fan was, I had a dream one night about seeing Terry in my backyard by a tree, holding two books while sitting down by a tree and not knowing what these two books were at all. Then I woke up out of the dream by a phone call and it was a man with an English accent asking me if I'd ever heard of Terry Callier.

"At that time, I didn't know him. It was a A&R guy from Talking Loud records wanting me to work with Terry. I said, 'Sure.' To make a long story short, the day I met him, I had to pick him up and he was a pure gentleman; and when he walked out of his building I was in complete shock! He was the same guy in my dream and was carrying the two books with him: the Holy Bible and the Qur'an, which I couldn't see in the dream. From that day on we just clicked, and he kept feeding me wisdom from both books every time we spoke. He came in the studio and knocked out the remake of his song 'Love Theme To Spartacus' in one take! R.I.P, Terry."

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