Among his best-known contributions to the albums of others are Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch!, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, and Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, of which critic Greil Marcus wrote (in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll), "Richard Davis provided the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album.

After high school, he studied double bass with Rudolf Fahsbender of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra while attending VanderCook College of Music.

In the early 1950s, Richard Davis met and played with Sonny Blount (globally celebrated later as the other-worldly orchestral revolutionary Sun Ra) and spent a year with the artistically and commercially successful pianist Ahmad Jamal’s trio.

He worked with many of the small jazz groups of the time, including those led by Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, Booker Ervin, Andrew Hill, Elvin Jones, and Cal Tjader.

[4] He has also played with Don Sebesky, Oliver Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and Ahmad Jamal.

In 1968 with Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks, Davis served as the de facto musical director, leading the improvisational ensemble through the album’s creation.

Producer Lewis Merenstein described Davis as “the soul of the album.” His bass lines on Astral Weeks were lauded by critics for their emotional depth, propelling the album to its status as a classic.

[7] Davis recorded with pop and rock musicians in the 1970s, appearing on Laura Nyro's Smile and Bruce Springsteen's Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and Born to Run.

During his career he performed classical music with conductors Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Leopold Stokowski, and Gunther Schuller.

[5] After living in New York City for 23 years, he moved to Wisconsin in 1977 and became a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[4] teaching bass, jazz history, and improvisation.

His former students include William Parker, David Ephross, Sandor Ostlund, Hans Sturm, Alex Kalfayan, Ryan Maxwell and Karl E. H.

His early work included playing in dance bands in Chicago, where he collaborated with future jazz luminaries like Sun Ra and Ahmad Jamal.

This period laid the foundation for his diverse musical voice, blending classical agility with jazz’s rhythmic drive and improvisational freedom.

He played on Frank Sinatra’s Watertown (1969), Paul Simon’s Something So Right (1973), and on several classic tracks from 1975, including Bruce Springsteen’s Meeting Across the River, Laura Nyro’s Smile, and Janis Ian’s At Seventeen.

[14] His efforts earned him numerous accolades, including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award and an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship at the Rose theater in 2014.

His participation in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra from 1966 to 1972 also highlighted his ability to adapt to large ensemble settings, where he balanced precise timing with creative expression.

Davis’s innovative style laid the groundwork for bassists to explore more prominent roles within ensembles, blending supportive playing with moments of melodic leadership.

[20] Just as Davis learned from the models provided by earlier generations of bassists, he can recount numerous situations in which younger musicians have expressed to him the importance of his recordings within their development.

collaborated with renowned speakers and social change activists such as Peggy McIntosh, Jane Elliott, Francie Kendall, Nathan Rutstein, Victor Lewis, Hugh Vasquez and Allan G. Johnson.