Santa Davis
<strong>Santa</strong> was born <strong>Carlton Davis</strong> in Kingston, Jamaica. At age eleven he joined the <em>St. Peter Claver Drum Corp</em> in Kingston and set his sites on becoming a professional drummer. He joined the group <strong><em>Kofi Kali and the Graduates</em></strong> and later united with his childhood friend<em> <strong>George "Fully" Fullwood</strong></em> in the group <strong>Soul Syndicate</strong> (featuring top session players like <strong><em>Tony Chin, Cleon Douglas, Scotty,</em></strong> <em><strong>Fully, Keith Sterling and Earl "Chinna" Smith</strong></em>). He first gained notoriety for his work on the song <em>"Skeng-epp"</em> by <strong>Rupee Edwards</strong> which was a number one hit in Jamaica and celebrated similar success in England.
<p>Recognized as one of the top reggae recording and live drummers in the world, he has toured with names like <strong>Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Big Youth, The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Andrew Tosh, Wailing Souls, Ini Kamoze, Big Mountain, Michael Rose,</strong> and too many more too mention. As a studio drummer, his work has helped to shape what is still today the standard in Reggae Music. His recording credits include some of the most classic reggae tunes of all time. Songs like <strong><em>Africa Unite, Comin' In From The Cold,</em></strong> and<em> <strong>C</strong></em><strong><em>hant Down Babylon</em></strong> from the internationally acclaimed albums <strong><em>Survival</em></strong> and <strong><em>Uprising</em></strong> by reggae superstar <strong>Bob Marley</strong>. His credits also include most songs on the album <em><strong>Liberation</strong></em> by <strong>Bunny Wailer</strong>, <strong><em>Marcus Garvey</em></strong> and <strong><em>Tradition</em></strong> by <strong>Burning Spear</strong>,<strong><em> Love is Overdue</em></strong> and <strong><em>All I Have is Love</em></strong> by <strong>Gregory Isaacs</strong>, <strong><em>Money in My Pocket</em></strong> and <strong><em>West Bound Train</em></strong> by <strong>Dennis Brown</strong>, the Grammy nominated album <strong><em>All Over The World</em></strong> by <strong>Wailing Souls</strong> on<em> Sony Music</em>, the classic <strong><em>Stalag 17</em></strong> instrumental (used by many Jamaican DJ/Rappers), the entire albums <strong><em>Rastafari</em></strong> and <strong><em>Disarmament</em></strong> by <strong>Ras Michael</strong>, the Grammy nominated album <em><strong>Make Place For The Youth</strong></em> by <strong>Andrew Tosh</strong> and many more songs with well known artist like <strong>Big Youth, Abyssinians, Barrington Levy, Delroy Wilson, Mighty Diamonds, Michigan & Smiley, Horace Andy, Jacob Miller, Tony Tuff, Sugar Minot, Joe Higgs, Wailing Souls, Mutabaruka</strong> and <strong>Big Mountain</strong> to name a few. </p>
<p>As the original drummer for <strong>Roots Radics</strong> (with <strong><em>Errol "Flabba" Holt</em></strong>), <em>Santa Davis</em> was the first drummer to record at the legendary<strong> Channel One Studio</strong> in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1981 <em>Santa </em>became <strong>Peter Tosh's</strong> official drummer, touring the globe extensively and performing on the internationally acclaimed albums <em><strong>Mama Africa</strong></em> and the Grammy winning album <strong><em>No Nuclear War</em></strong> for <em>EMI</em>. He later went on to be the official drummer for other groups like<strong> Back-N-Service</strong> (with <em><strong>Fabian Cooke, Michael Hyde</strong></em> and <em><strong>Stevie "TigerTone" Verhault </strong></em>), <strong>Big Mountain</strong> (touring internationally and performing on their album <strong><em>Free Up</em></strong> and the group <strong>Caribbean Pulse</strong>. However, <em>Santa's</em> experience as a musician is not limited to only reggae music. He has recorded and jammed with major artists like <em><strong>Isaac Hayes, Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan</strong></em> , <STRONG>Pink </STRONG>,<em><STRONG>Eddie Griffin,and</STRONG></em> <STRONG>Willie</STRONG> Nelson on his album "<STRONG>Countryman</STRONG>" in 2005. At present, Santa is the official drummer for <STRONG>Ziggy Marley.</STRONG></p>
<p>Santa is undeniably a legend in Reggae Music's rich history and remains one of the hottest and most sought after drummers in the business, but if you ask him he'll tell you he's "just a link in the chain".</p>