Stephen Allen Davis, Hit Writer For Percy Sledge, Prolific Country Composer, Dies At 73

Stephen Allen Davis, the widely-covered Nashville songwriter and artist, died on December 26 at the age of 73. He had been diagnosed with an undisclosed illness in 2021.

Davis’ brother Costo posted on Facebook: “Stephen Allen Davis ‘left the building’ for the final time at 7:34 pm, Monday, December 26, 2022. He passed in a peaceful sleep after being surrounded with his family’s love. In the past year, before he knew he was ill, Stephen was reconciling his life after receiving a ‘Baptism of the Spirit.’ He was writing and making his music until he became too sick to continue.

“Stephen was so thankful for every moment and faced his last months with bravery, humility and gratitude. He never complained or felt sorry for himself. He was always concerned for the well-being of the family around him. Stephen will be deeply missed but his loving, creative, fun spirit will continue on in our memories and in his music. Love you Buddy! Your brother, Costo.”

Davis was widely recognized in country music for his co-writes of hits for Tammy Wynette, Charlie Rich, Jo Dee Messina, Barbara Mandrell and countless others, but his work also traveled far outside the genre and reached rock and soul audiences. He won more than a dozen BMI Awards, with an estimated 400 or covers of his work, and he recorded and performed in his own right, with releases for RCA, Epic, and several other labels.

He was born in Hendersonville, just outside Nashville, on October 4, 1949, and was performing live by his mid-teens. His uncle, A-list musician and executive Harold Bradley, arranged a meeting for him with his publisher friend Norro Davis which opened possibilities for him as a songwriter, at this time credited as Steve Davis.

Still aged just 17, his “Take Time To Know Her” was cut by soul giant Percy Sledge and released as an Atlantic single. It became Sledge’s fourth and final Top 10 R&B hit, at No.6, and hit No.11 pop, and with accompaniment by the great musicians of Muscle Shoals, stands as a classic soul single of its day. As it climbed the charts, Davis, now turned 18, signed as an artist to RCA.

In the country field, Davis’ 1970s successes included hits for Joe Stampley with “Dear Woman” in 1975 (co-written by the pair with Mark Sherrill) and Johnny Duncan with “Hello Mexico (And Adios Baby to You)” in 1978, co-written with Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton. Stampley also went Top 10 with Davis’ “Put Your Clothes Back On” in 1979.

Other substantial hits included Wynette’s recording of “One of a Kind” (1977), “Beautiful Woman” for Rich (1978), “Sleepin’ With the Radio On” (Charly McClain, 1981), “Only a Lonely Heart Knows” for Mandrell and Reba McEntire’s “Just A Little Love,” both in 1984, and many more. In early 1999, his “Stand Beside Me” topped the country singles chart for three weeks for Messina.

Davis’ songbook also attracted such artists as Joe Cocker, who cut “Just To Keep From Drowning” (co-written with Marshall Chapman) for his 1989 album One Night of Sin; Diana Ross, who released his and Will Jennings’ “The Best Years of My Life” as a single in 1994; and Meatloaf, who included “Where Angels Sing” on 1995’s Welcome To The Neighbourhood.