Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis

The spectacular untold story of the Indigenous guitarist who catapulted to fame backing Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon amidst the sweeping social transformations of the twentieth century.

Jesse Ed Davis shared stages with the greatest music stars of the 1960s and '70s. His riffs and licks enlivened albums by three of four Beatles, and recordings by artists as distinct as Eric Clapton, Leonard Cohen, and Cher. But Davis?whose name has been all but lost to the annals of rock 'n' roll history?was more than just the most versatile session guitarist of the decade. By pairing bright flourishes with soulful melodies, Davis exploded our idea of what rock music could be, and who could make it. Interweaving more than a hundred interviews with legendary peers, bandmates, and family members, Washita Love Child reimagines the Kiowa-Comanche musician's improbable career, from his childhood in Oklahoma to his first major gig backing rockabilly star Conway Twitty, and from his climactic, dramatic performance at George Harrison's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh to his tragic demise, years later, in Los Angeles.

Auteur

A professor of history at Oklahoma State University and a former working musician, Douglas Miller specializes in twentieth-century Native American history. He is the author of Indians on the Move: Native American Mobility and Urbanization in the Twentieth Century. He lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma.