Johnnie "Scat" Davis
Trumpeter/singer/bandleader
Born: Died: Real Name:
May 11, 1910
Brazil, IN
November 28, 1983
Pecos, TX
John Gustave Davis
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Growing up in Brazil, Indiana during the Roaring'20s, Johnnie Gustave "Scat" Davis did not ponder many career options. He was destined to be a musician. "Scat," a nickname Johnnie earned as a youth, was born May 11, 1910, and learned to play a cornet as soon as he could hold one.
His grandfather John Davis, the former director of the Royal British Navy Band, was a pioneer director of the Brazil Concert Band, America's oldest continually-existing community band, founded in 1863. His father J. Gus Davis, who could play all instruments and was a gifted composer, also led the concert band. Uncle Charles Schmidt was an accomplished pianist, and older brother Nelson, a trumpeter, was the student leader of the Indiana University marching band.
In 1924, he joined the Brazil Concert Band at age 13. The next year, uncle Schmidt helped him get a professional job with Jack O'Grady and the Varsity Entertainers at the Grand Opera House in Terre Haute, western Indiana's entertainment hub. Davis traveled to work by bus until he could drive at age 16, arranging morning classes at Brazil High School to accommodate his bus schedule. After working for O'Grady, he played for Paul Johnson's orchestra at the American Theater and for Leo Baxter at the Liberty. Johnnie's younger brother Art also worked for Baxter.
When sound films became popular, Davis began playing one-night stands at the Trianon and Orpheum ballrooms in Terre Haute and sometimes trekked to Greencastle, Bloomington and Indianapolis. Upon graduation from high school in 1928, he joined Jimmy Joy's orchestra in Louisville. Later he played with Sammy Watkins' band in Cleveland and Austin Wylie's orchestra in New York, reuniting with old Terre Haute chum Claude Thornhill. In 1933 Ernest "Red" Nichols urged Davis to join the Park Central Hotel orchestra.
In the mid-1930s, Davis joined the Fred Waring band, which took him to Hollywood, where he soon became a household name. Starting with Varsity Show in 1937, he made 15 films over the next seven years (see below). His most famous role was in Hollywood Hotel, where he introduced the song "Hooray for Hollywood." His lively rendition helped make the song a big hit and a Tinsel Town's anthem.
Davis formed his own orchestra in 1939. Early members included Buddy DeFranco and Davis'
own brother, Art, who wrote arrangements. His group accompanied striptease artist Ann Corio
during a 1943 tour. In the early fifties,
Davis worked with a small ensemble, appearing on WXYZ-TV in Detroit. He eventually moved
to Texas, where continued to lead his own outfit until retiring in the late sixties.
Johnnie Davis passed away in 1983 at the age of 73 after suffering a heart attack
during a hunting trip in Pecos, Texas.
1930s Movies
Varsity Show (1937)
Over the Goal (1937)
Hollywood Hotel (1938)
Katnip Kollege (1938)
Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938)
Men Are Such Fools (1938)
Garden of the Moon (1938)
Brother Rat (1938)
Mr. Chump (1938)
Sweepstakes Winner (1939)
Slapsie Maxie's (1939)
1940s Movies
A Child Is Born (1940)
Sarong Girl (1942)
You Can't Ration Love (1944)
Knickerbocker Holiday (1944)