John W. Lederle
A native of Providence, R.I., Bobby Davis spent several years as a young man playing his Fender Rhodes electric piano with a variety of jazz and R&B groups. Exhausted by the touring, Davis had a chance encounter with jazz great McCoy Tyner who reinforced his father's advice: "Son, don't forget to give college a chance."
After following a friend to Amherst in 1977, Davis entered the University Without Walls program at UMass to earn his college degree and soon became immersed in the vibrant local arts scene. Joining the staff of the student publication Nummo News, Davis' first assignment was to cover a concert by the guitarist Michael Gregory, and when he discovered that there were no photographers present, he grabbed a camera and shot the session himself. Through his work with Nummo News and the Daily Collegian, Davis learned his way around a darkroom and took opportunities to film other concerts, with his photographs appearing not only in student publications, but in the Amherst Record .
Davis parlayed his success in photography into jobs for the Smith College and for the yearbook company, Delmar Studios. Davis eventually settled in Northampton, where he remains active as a photographer.
From the guide to the Bobby Davis Photograph Collection PH 065., 1980-1983, (Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries)
