Say No to the Devil
The Life and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis
- Contents
- Review Quotes
- Awards

Introduction: The Anti–Robert Johnson
Prologue: You Got to Move
1 There Was a Time That I Was Blind (1896–1916)
2 Street-Corner Bard (1917–28)
3 “I Was a Blues Cat” (1928–34)
4 Great Change in Me (1934–43)
5 Meet You at the Station (1943–49)
6 Who Shall Deliver Poor Me? (1950–55)
7 I’ll Be Alright Someday (1955–58)
8 I Can’t Make This Journey by Myself (1958–59)
9 He Knows How Much We Can Bear (1960–61)
10 Let the Savior Bless Your Soul: The Reverend in the Pulpit
11 Children, Go Where I Send Thee (1961–62)
12 Lord, Stand by Me (1962–63)
13 On the Road and Over the Ocean (1964)
14 The Guitar Lessons: “Bring Your Money, Honey!”
15 Buck Dance (1965–66)
16 Where You Goin’, Old Drunkard?
17 There’s a Bright Side Somewhere (1967–70)
18 Tired, My Soul Needs Resting (1971–72)
Epilogue: When I Die, I’ll Live Again
Selected Discography
Notes
Index
“Zack, in the first full biography of [the Rev. Gary Davis], follows the story from his early, poverty-ridden childhood in the South, his early days as a bluesman, his move to New York and his calling to be a preacher, and his later 'discovery' through the folk boom and the students he taught who carried on his legacy. Zack had access to many of those students and others who knew Davis, lending greater insight into a man who fought the devil perhaps because he was really so much like him. . . . A well-written work.”
Association for Recorded Sound Collections: Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence
Won
You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.