A Piece of History: Music and Banking Industry Mogul, Don Davis, Dies at 75

One of the music and banking industry legends passed away last week (June 5th) in Detroit, Michigan.

Don Davis, 75, was the CEO and chairman of First Independence Bank.  He led the bank’s $204 million in assets (as of December 31, 2013).  First Independence was was Michigan’s only African-American owned and operated commercial bank, with multiple locations around Detroit. Black Enterprise also listed the financial institution as one of the top ranked African-American owned banks in the U.S..

Prior to having a successful career in the banking business, Davis also made worth-while contributions to the music industry.

As a Grammy Award-winning producer, Davis pioneered musical work at Motown Records and Groovesville Music/BMI, his independent label.  He also established more Billboard chart-topping, platinum-selling hits at the legendary Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

Davis worked with legendary Blues singer, Johnnie Taylor, as producer and songwriter on the 1968 hit “Whose Making Love.”  His history making hit “Disco Lady” was the first single ever to be certified Billboard Platinum. Compositions written and produced by Davis spanned over 60 years.  His work has been sampled by many of our favorite artists/groups like Destiny’s Child and Jay-z. In his musical career which spanned 60 years, his long lasting music has been sampled by many artists including Destiny’s Child, and rap mogul Jay-Z. 

Don Davis is survived by his wife Kiko, and three children.