Margo Davidson

Davidson was born in Simcoe, Ontario and attended Simcoe Composite School[http://www.simcoesabres.com Simcoe Composite School Website] where she developed her musical talent. She was a diabetic from childhood. Davidson's father died in 1971; she had one brother and two step-siblings. Her brother David, a trombonist, was also involved in music, as a high school music teacher and performer.

Davidson initially played both piano and saxophone, and was a member of the Simcoe Composite School band. She formed her first music group, a jazz quartet, while a high school student, and played semi-professionally in the Simcoe area.

Davidson arrived in Toronto from Simcoe in 1975, following graduation from Simcoe Composite School. She briefly attended the University of Toronto, and commenced playing with local bands. With Toronto female singer Robin Wells, with whom Davidson had been associated in a previous band, Davidson co-founded The Wells-Davidson Band in 1978, playing rhythm and blues and rock music. The band was one of a minority of bands led by two women. It was managed by Harbourfront Centre music programmer Derek Andrews.[http://www.globalcafe.ca/news.htm "Transcript from CBC's METRO MORNING"], Global Cafe, October, 2003; [https://web.archive.org/web/20031123074836/http://www.globalcafe.ca/news.htm Archived] at the Wayback Machine] The drummer for the band was Arthur Fogel, who later became a concert promoter and executive with Live Nation Entertainment.Peter Robb, [https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/music/arthur-fogels-year-of-living-famously Arthur Fogel's year of living famously]. Ottawa Citizen, May 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-22. At that time, and through the 1980s, Davidson was also notable as one of very few female saxophonists playing professionally, predating such artists as Candy Dulfer, Katja Rieckermann and Colleen Allen. In terms of the Toronto music scene of the late 1970s, she was a contemporary of Dianne Heatherington, with whom she played on occasion. She also recorded with the Foxrun Band on their album You're Invited. Davidson later joined Kid Rainbow, a band established by Toronto singer-songwriter Gary O'Connor as a means to promote his songs. She also played in a stage version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show that toured Toronto and area venues. Both The Wells-Davidson Band and Kid Rainbow met with a degree of local success.

In 1982 Davison was invited to form The Parachute Club, along with former Mama Quilla II members Lorraine Segato and Lauri Conger, as well as Steve Webster, Billy Bryans, Julie Masi and Dave Grey.[http://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20110514/287513702045322 "The best Toronto band. Ever."]. Toronto Star, May 14, 2011 Davidson was a saxophonist,[https://issuu.com/uw_imprint/docs/1983-84_v06-n24_imprint "Parachutes Drop In"]. Imprint, January 20, 1984; Vol. 6, No. 24. by Nathan Kudyk. percussionist and vocalist with The Parachute Club between 1982 and 1989, during which all of the band's recordings were made. The band, best known for their hit single "Rise Up", started out playing locally,[https://www.proquest.com/docview/435568402 "Rain didn't dampen Parachute Club spirit"]. Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. Vit Wagner Jun 23, 1987 Page: E.4 and later toured across Canada, as well as in the United States and Germany.Michael Badawoy, [http://www.cd989.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=12537 Margo Davidson, Juno Award Winner, Dies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727082456/http://www.cd989.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=12537 |date=2009-07-27 }}, CD 98.9FM Radio, May 23, 2008. As a member of The Parachute Club Davidson was the recipient of two Juno Awards for Most Promising Group of The Year in 1984 and for Group of the Year in 1985. Davidson's role with The Parachute Club was primarily as a musician and harmony vocalist, though she is also the co-writer (with John Oates, Lorraine Segato and Lauri Conger) of "Love Is Fire", the lead single from the band's third album, Small Victories.{{Allmusic | class = album | id = r59656 | label =Small Victories | accessdate = 2012-04-27 }} The album was less successful that their previous one,[https://www.proquest.com/docview/435754837 "Parachute Club floats new ideas"]. Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. by Craig MacInnis Jul 19, 1988 Page E.4 and Parachute Club eventually broke up in 1989 (it was reconstituted in 2005 and continues to perform).

Davidson was briefly a member of the well-known Toronto band Bratty and The Babysitters, in 1988, when the future of The Parachute Club was uncertain, playing a mix of various musical genres.{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Canadian Pop Encyclopedia | url = http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/B/Bratty_And_The_Babysitters.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120711105852/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/B/Bratty_And_The_Babysitters.html | url-status = usurped | archive-date = 2012-07-11 | title = Biography of Bratty and The Babysitters }} Bratty and the Babysitters disbanded in 1989, the same year that The Parachute Club formally disbanded for the first time, though the latter's last public performances became those at Toronto's Ontario Place in July 1988.{{Allmusic | class = artist | id = p483993 | tab = biography | label = Biography of Bratty and The Babysitters | first = Charlotte | last = Dillon | accessdate = 2012-04-27 }}{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Music in Canada | url = https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/parachute-club-emc | title = Biography of The Parachute Club }}

After the initial breakup of The Parachute Club, Davidson, with the exception of the occasional guest performance, left the music business and spent the balance of her life working with organizations dedicated to assisting the homeless. Davidson became a creative writer and a director of St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society, based in Toronto. She was also an outreach worker at Eva's Phoenix, a transitional housing project dedicated to life skills and homeless youth.See [http://www.stclares.ca/pdfs/2003_annual_report.pdf St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society Annual Report 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428010007/http://www.stclares.ca/pdfs/2003_annual_report.pdf |date=2011-04-28 }} at p. 6.

For much of her life, particularly in her later years, Davidson was affected by depression and alcoholism. Davidson died in her Toronto home on Saturday, May 17, 2008. Her funeral and interment were in Simcoe on May 23, 2008, and she was interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Simcoe. Her cause of death was not publicly disclosed, and Davidson left no publicly acknowledged partner.

• 1983 The Parachute Club (Current/RCA)
• 1984 At The Feet of the Moon (Current/RCA)
• 1985 Moving Thru the Moonlight (Current/RCA; remixes)
• 1986 Small Victories (Current/RCA)
• 1992 Wild Zone: The Essential Parachute Club (BMG; Reissued 2006 by EMI International)

• 1979 The Foxrun Band, You're Invited (Ariel Records)Canadian Pop Encyclopedia, {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120711122048/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/D/Darkstar.html Biography of Darkstar]}}; www.jam.canoe.ca.
• 1980 Bob Segarini, Goodbye L.A.One song, "It's Christmas", a single included as a bonus track on the CD reissue. See [http://fyimusic.ca/dont-believe-a-word-i-say/dont-believe-a-word-i-say-with-bob-segarini-75 Don't Believe A Word I Say, With Bob Segarini] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195828/http://fyimusic.ca/dont-believe-a-word-i-say/dont-believe-a-word-i-say-with-bob-segarini-75 |date=2016-03-03 }}; www.fyimusic.ca. Blog entry of August 19, 2009. Davidson's performance appears to be otherwise uncredited.
• 1984 Gerry Cott (The Boomtown Rats), I Left My Hat In Haiti (Polydor) Saxophone on "Alphabet Town". According to a 2001 interview with Gerry Cott, his opportunities in Canada came about via Current Records, which was also the label for The Parachute Club, and CBS Records. See {{cite web|url=http://www.cyberspace7.btinternet.co.uk/gerry3.htm |title=Interview with Gerry Cott |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120729005115/http://www.cyberspace7.btinternet.co.uk/gerry3.htm |archivedate=July 29, 2012 |url-status=dead }}; www.cyberspace7.btinternet.co.uk.
• 1985 Rough Trade, Birds of A Feather: The Best of Rough Trade (True North)Horns on "Insatiable", a track not previously released.
• 1989 Paul James, Rockin' The Blues (Stony Plain Records)
• 1993 The Whiteley Bros. Bluesology: A Journey Through the Blues (Borealis)
• 1997 A Celebration of Blues: Great Slide Guitar (St. Clair)Composed of licensed recordings previously issued by blues labels such as Alligator, Stony Plain and Blind Pig. Davidson appears on "Red Hot Mama", by Paul James, from his Rockin' The Blues album, originally released by Stony Plain in 1989.

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• [http://www.ferrisfuneral.com/index.cfm Margo Davidson Condolences Guestbook], Ferris Funeral Homes, Simcoe
• [http://www.evasinitiatives.com/e-phoenix.php Eva's Phoenix]
• [http://www.stclares.ca/ St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society].

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Category:1957 births

Category:2008 deaths

Category:Activists from Toronto

Category:Rock saxophonists

Category:Rhythm and blues saxophonists

Category:Canadian rock musicians

Category:People from Norfolk County, Ontario

Category:Musicians from Toronto

Category:Simcoe Composite School alumni

Category:Canadian homelessness activists

Category:Canadian women saxophonists

Category:The Parachute Club members

Category:20th-century Canadian women musicians

Category:20th-century Canadian saxophonists