Charles Davis
First Tenor, Second Tenor, Baritone, Bass and Lead
He was born Robert Charles Davis on April 22, 1953 in
Jackson, Mississippi. When he was ten years old, his family
moved to Detroit. His parents were both music lovers.
His mother sang in a church choir and his father was a
guitar player. Blues and gospel music were his love, and
he and his brothers were motivated to pursue music at
a very early age.
Charles attended Southeastern High School before joining
the United States Navy from 1969 through 1971, serving
in Vietnam. Upon his return, Charles turned to music.
Inspired by such groups as The Temptations, The Originals,
The Dells, and The Four Tops, Charles and his two brothers,
Moses and Leonard (Pee Wee) started a group called The
Chosen Few. Alonso Mason, Reggie Royster and Ron Stafford
(who later sang with C.P. Spencer's Originals and Detroit's
Own Dynamics). were the other members. They won some local
and high school talent shows. About 1972, the group turned
professional. Sadly, within months, Moses was killed by
street violence which was very common on the streets of
Detroit at that time. By 1974, the group broke up and
Charles returned to military service. He joined the Army
and went on to start a group while stationed in Wurzburg,
Germany. This group played all the major clubs and also
worked for the U.S.O.
After leaving the service he returned to Saran Industries,
where he had worked before he enlisted. He also went back
to school, majoring in Chemistry (paint formulation).
Even though he became the plant manager at his day job,
he still managed to sing at parties, but not as often
as he would have liked.
One day while sitting around with some friends singing
different songs he met a young man named Martin (Bennie)
Upshire who, at the time, was the lead singer for THE CONTOURS. They became good friends. Shortly afterward,
on November 11, 1984, Bennie invited Charles to audition
for THE CONTOURS to replace Arthur Hinson, who was leaving
the group. He accepted and found himself sharing the stage
with Joe Billingslea, an original member of THE CONTOURS
that had inspired him as a young man.
Charles has been married to his lovely wife, Rose, for
a dozen years. He has seven children (Robert C. Davis,
Jr.; Shawn Lamont Patton; André Patton; Christina
Boyland; Nina Yvonne Davis; Celestine Teague and Tamisha
Lloyd) and 14 grandchildren. He has a strong sense of
family and a passion for his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
God has truly blessed him with many, many talents, including
the ability to take charge of any situation that occurs
and the discipline to finish what he starts. More importantly,
Charles never forgets the people that God has put in his
circle of life. One of the gifts that God gave him is
the ability to write and arrange music. Charles has performed
at different Gospel shows. |
