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Duke Davis
Born in Schertz, Texas (just northeast of San Antonio), he is a cowboy, rancher, horseman, musician, singer, songwriter, bassist, producer, poet and occasional actor. He spent 13 years playing in the thriving music scene of Houston and Austin that included stints with the 13th Floor Elevators, Lightnin' Hopkins, the Grits Band, the Starvation Army Band, the Barons and numerous Las Vegas Show Bands fronted by Ray Rogers and Bojangles, Gary Smith, and Bill Nash. He also began his recording career at International Artists and Gold Star Studio as a session musician, producer and staff songwriter. In 1978, Duke moved to Los Angeles, California and assembled his western swing band, Buckshot, aka "Duke Davis and the Buckshot Boys". In 1983, Duke created Rockin' Double "D" Productions with his wife, Ruthie, an independent record label where they produce Western music and cowboy poetry albums. To date, Duke has produced over 200 recordings on dozens of artists and has released nine albums of his own. By 1993, the production company branched off into staging live events producing festivals, rodeos and concerts. By 1994, Duke had left the West Coast Music scene to return to his cowboy roots. He built the High Mesa Horse Ranch in Lamy (outside of Santa Fe), New Mexico, and started training, breeding and brokering horses while day working as a cowboy. In 2002, Duke sold the ranch in New Mexico and moved to Colorado where he opened the Osita Ranch (near Guffey), continuing his horse business while touring with the band up to 200 dates annually. In 2010, Duke retired from ranching and moved back to Texas, settling in Fredericksburg, Texas. Nowadays, Duke newest focus is on The Swang Dawgs, a trio of singer/songwriters who all share a common dedication to Western Swing Music and love for Cowboy Music. Duke plays upright bass and is joined by “Lonesome” Dave Kemp and Stan Troy on guitars. In addition, Duke continues to produce many other artists in the studio, plays standup bass with award winning Western icon Mike Blakely, and he has managed the Texas Rangers Heritage Center (in Fredericksburg) since its opening in 2015.