Ruth Davis

Ruth Davis - nicknamed Baby Sis (September 27, 1927- January 2, 1970) was the Lead singer of the gospel group The Davis Sisters. She founded the group at age 17 in 1945. Ruth had enlisted in the Women's Air Corp during World War II to fulfill her patriotic aspirations. During this time her musical and creative instincts came to the forefront of her personality and the nurturing of her artistic side conflicted with the strict military discipline required of WAC's. Ruth had been continually inspired by music and had heard the Wings Over Jordan Choir in the military, the old Southern-style male quartets on the radio, and heard the newly developing gospel sound in churches and on programs. She was influcened to be a singer by not only her family, but by singers Ira Tucker and Dinah Washington. In the The Davis Sisters, she was the featured vocalist with a bluesy voice. She was the creative brains behind the group's musical arrangements and was not afraid to try something new. Ruth was a skilled song writer, writing some of the groups most loved songs including "I Believe I'll Go Back Home". Some of her gospel songs contain doo-wop vocal techniques taken from r&b and rock and roll songs of the time. Fellow gospel artists today typically praised Ruth and her The Davis Sisters singing as spirit-filled. Ruth Davis' solos were also overpowering in their own way; her recordings of songs such as "Jesus Steps Right In" and "Too Close to Heaven" disclose the glory of her instrumental voice, a huge,wide-ranging metallic contralto of great beauty and extraordinary power and force in squalling. Ruth died unexpectedly of complications from kidney disease, diabetes and liver disease in 1970; her funeral was held at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA; where her sister, Thelma Davis’s funeral was also held several years earlier. Ray Charles' wife, Della Beatrice Howard Robinson, sang at Ruth's funeral.