page_title: Rick Davies
section_title: Supertramp
hierarchical_section_title: Rick Davies / Biography and career / Supertramp
caption_attribution_description: Rick Davies (Supertramp) 2002 in Dresden
context_page_description: Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies is their only consistent member, and composed some of their best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.
  Starting with Indelibly Stamped in 1971, Davies shared lead vocals with Supertramp songwriting partner, Roger Hodgson until the latter's departure in 1983, at which point he became the sole lead vocalist of the group. Davies's voice is deeper than Hodgson's, and he usually employs a raspy baritone which stands in stark contrast to his bandmate's tenor. However, he occasionally sings in a falsetto which superficially resembles Hodgson's vocals, such as on "Goodbye Stranger" and "My Kind of Lady".
context_section_description: Davies decided to form a new band, and returned home from Switzerland to place an ad in the music magazine Melody Maker in August 1969. Roger Hodgson was auditioned and, despite their contrasting backgrounds – Davies's working class upbringing and Hodgson's private school education – they struck up an instant rapport and began writing virtually all of their songs together. The band was initially called Daddy, but renamed Supertramp in January 1970.
  Supertramp became one of the first acts to sign to the emerging UK branch of A&M Records, and by the summer of 1970 they had recorded their first album, simply called Supertramp. Hodgson performed the lion's share of the lead vocals on this first effort, but by the time of their second album Indelibly Stamped, Davies had stepped up as a singer, and he and Hodgson were sharing lead vocal duties equally.
  After five years with Davies and Hodgson as the mainstays of a continuously changing group, Supertramp settled into a stable lineup and recorded Crime of the Century, which finally brought them critical and commercial success when it was released in 1974. It reached number four in the UK Albums Chart. Though their singles were only moderately successful, their albums consistently scored high in the charts. Davies's relationship with Hodgson had begun to change, and the two began writing most of their songs separately again, though they agreed to have them all credited to Davies/Hodgson by contract. Among the songs credited to Davies/Hodgson but actually written solely by Davies are the hits "Bloody Well Right" and "Goodbye Stranger".
  The group had relocated to the United States by 1977, and it was there that they recorded their best-selling album, Breakfast in America from April 1978 to February 1979. Davies and Hodgson were observed by engineer Peter Henderson to be getting along "fantastically well and everyone was really happy" throughout the long months of recording and mixing. Davies is credited with writing the answering lyric in the second chorus of Hodgson's "The Logical Song". With more hit singles than their first five albums combined, the album reached number three in the UK, and top of the charts in America.
  Hodgson quit Supertramp in 1983. Davies's relationship with him had deteriorated, and the group's last hit before his departure, "My Kind of Lady", featured little involvement from Hodgson as either a writer or performer. The song was a showcase for Davies's vocal range, with him singing in everything from a booming bass to a piercing falsetto to his natural raspy baritone. With Davies firmly at the helm, Supertramp returned to a more non-commercial, progressive rock-oriented approach with the album Brother Where You Bound and had another hit with "Cannonball". The band continued to tour and record for another five years before disbanding, with a mutual agreement between the members that Supertramp had run its course.
  In 1997, during work on what would have been his first solo album, Davies decided to reform Supertramp. The group promptly returned to recording and touring, which yielded another two studio albums before they split again. Supertramp reunited in 2010 for their 70–10 tour. A 2015 tour was announced but ultimately cancelled due to Davies' health issues.
  In late August 2018, Rick Davies gave a rare interview in which he expressed that, for the most part, he has overcome his health problems and enjoys playing music again,  something he couldn't do around 2016, when he was under medical treatment. Indeed, Davies can be seen performing a few tracks in a rehearsal/sound check at a bar, with Supertramp's current members at his side (as Ricky and the Rockets).
caption: Rick Davies in 2002.
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