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James Cleo Davis was born on March 9, 1919 in northwest Georgia to Ben and Effie Davis. (Erbsen, doodah) Ben and Effie made music an important part of their house hold. It is recorded on natitiveground.com that Cleo’s daddy had a five string banjo that was stretched over with coonskin. Cleo’s daddy would hold the banjo close to the fire or wood burning stove to make the perfect “thump” sound. His mama played the pump organ. (Erbsen, nativeground) During the summer the family would gather and play or “pick” on the front porch. The children would join hands in dances in the yard and Cleo would often wrestle his brothers When Cleo’s mother died, he moved in with Marcus, his uncle. Marcus let Cleo play a five string banjo to keep him from getting bored. (Erbesen, nativeground) At age ten Cleo went to a concert at the school house where some big shots from Atlanta were playing. Cleo didn’t have enough money to get in so he snuck around to the back and listened through a window. After listening at the school house, Cleo came home and made a guitar out of a can and some old banjo strings, he then went and played in the woods. He traded and got himself a harmonica and when that didn’t suit his needs he traded the harmonica and a pocket knife for an old beaten up guitar. (Erbesen, nativeground) When Cleo got older he began working on a farm, this extra money helped him to buy a new guitar. In 1938 Cleo started working on another farm, here he made one dollar an hour, the most money he had ever seen in his life. (Erbesen, nativeground) This is where he ran across Bill Monroe and was asked to be a member of the Bluegrass Boys. “He and Bill rehearsed together for several months, then moved to Asheville and began performing on radio station WWNC” (Cleo Davis: Blue Grass Boy.) Cleo got to be with the band on their debut on the Grand Ole Opry. Cleo Davis can be heard in original recordings of “"Muleskinner Blues" that appears on the "Music of Bill Monroe" boxed set, playing rhythm on the mandolin while Bill plays guitar.” (Cleo Davis: Blue Grass Boy.)

Works Cited "Cleo Davis: Blue Grass Boy." Doo Dah. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2013. . "Cleo Davis, The Original Bluegrass Boy by Wayne Erbsen." Bluegrass banjo, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar lessons and instruction plus Historic and Old Time Music Books and Recordings. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2013. .