CeDell Davis

CeDell Davis was born in 1927 in Helena, Arkansas. His right hand was crippled by polio at the age of ten, so he switched his guitar to a left-handed bottleneck style played with a knife, which made for a unique, atonal sound. He played locally throughout the 1950s and '60s with friends such as Robert Nighthawk, Big Joe Williams, and Charlie Jordan. In 1957, Davis was badly injured in a stampede at a St. Louis tavern, crippling him even further and confining him to a wheelchair, yet he persevered with his music. After a series of compilation appearances and several live dates ...