Biography
Davis was born in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston. He got his "Santa" nickname as a result of a skating accident which left his face swollen and red. At the age of ten he began playing in his local Catholic church marching band, staying with them for the next five years. During his time there he was tutored in the rocksteady beat by Bobby Aitken. At the age of fourteen he joined The Graduates, a nightclub band which also featured Earl "Wire" Lindo (later of The Wailers), Richard Daley (later of Third World, and Earl "Bagga" Walker.
Davis joined his friend George "Fully" Fullwood in the Rhythm Raiders in 1969, the band soon changing name to Soul Syndicate, and was the drummer in Bunny Lee's studio band The Aggrovators in the 1970s, originating the "flying cymbal" sound. Davis also played in the Roots Radics.
In the 1980s he played in Peter Tosh's band, and was injured during the shooting in which Tosh was murdered.
He later joined Big Mountain.
He has also recorded with many non-reggae major artists such as Isaac Hayes, Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, Pink, Eddie Griffin, and Willie Nelson on his album Countryman in 2005.
At present, Santa is the official drummer for Ziggy Marley.
Read more about this topic: Carlton "Santa" Davis
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