Danny Davis was born as George Joseph Nowlan[1] into a large Irish-Catholic family in Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States,[1] (one of his brothers became a priest who at one time was assigned to the Vatican).

By age 14 he was trumpet soloist with the Massachusetts All-State Symphony Orchestra and was granted admittance to the New England Conservatory of Music.

During the early 1950s, Davis found some moderate success as a vocalist, releasing several singles including "Object of My Affection" and "Crazy Heart."

In his career as a record producer Davis worked with a wide variety of artists, from Nina Simone to Frank Yankovic.

Even though it was a recording produced by Davis that earned Jennings his first Grammy Award ("MacArthur Park" with The Kimberlys),[2] the two men did not have a good working relationship.

The basic idea was to replace the vocalist with a brass ensemble (two to three trumpets, two trombones) playing over a standard country rhythm section (guitar, bass, drums, banjo).

When completed, Atkins hand carried the demo (Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light") to a meeting of RCA executives in California.

[1] Beginning in 1969 and continuing for the next five years Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass dominated the Country Music Association Awards Best Instrumental Group category.

[1] Over the years the group garnered eleven more Grammy nominations and received many other awards from recording industry publications and associations.

In the 1980s, Davis joined the cast of Hee Haw as a member of the "Million Dollar Band" with fellow instrumentalists Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Roy Clark (guitar), Charlie McCoy (harmonica), Johnny Gimble (fiddle) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (mandolin).

Davis and his group performed the English version of the theme song for the Japanese animated series Speed Racer.

Danny Davis' last chart appearance came in 1987 with the single "Green Eyes (Cryin' Those Blue Tears)" with featured vocalist Dona Mason.

[4] Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass gave their final public performance on July 23, 2005, at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Georgia.

Also, at the time of his death Davis and writer Thom King had nearly completed an autobiography tentatively titled Guess Who I Met Today.