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Kim Davis, a guitarist from Fort Worth’s early rock ‘n roll scene, is dead — gone but not forgotten as he straps on a Les Paul electric and joins that heavenly chorus.

Davis played the power chords and harmony leads in Point Blank’s mighty two-guitar attack back in the early days of Southern Rock. Rusty Burns was the other axe-slinger.

“He will be missed on many levels,” Burns said. “He was my musical brother.”

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Former Savvy frontman and current Nashville-based solo artist Ricky Lynn Gregg saw Point Blank when he was 16 at a Shreveport concert. “That was the first time I’d ever seen a double guitar band playing double harmonies — this was before Boston,” he said.

Point Blank broke up in 1982 but started playing and recording again in the 2000s, although Davis wasn’t involved in the second coming.

Burns is remembered as the guitar god — he’s still blowing away North Texas crowds — but Davis was by no means a protege.

“Kim was an equal to Rusty as far as lead guitar goes,” Gregg said. “Kim had a guitar style that was unique in Texas. He could play things that would blow your mind. But by 42 or 43 he only cared about playing now and then.”

Here’s an album cut from the old days:

Here’s the band at its bluesy best, playing live back in 1980:

Burns, along with Gregg (Savvy, Head East, Nashville solo artist) and Cowtown killer guitarist John Nitzinger (Bloodrock), will unveil their emotions in their music and say a fitting, blues-rock, in-yo-face farewell to Davis on Saturday night at Blackhorse Saloon.

If you think the boys are too old to cut the mustard anymore, think again. Watch Burns burn at Grapefest in 2007:

Visitation is at 5 p.m. tonight at Donnelly’s Colonial Funeral Home in Irving. The funeral is at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same place.

Davis’ musical allies say he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but a family member said the cause of death is still being investigated and has not yet been determined.

34 COMMENTS

  1. Was it absolutely neccessary to post how he died? Those of us who knew him personally, not as the guitar player, are very pained by the fact that you did this. Here we are trying to protect his memory for his family’s sake and you just put it out for all to see. It is very irresponsible and cruel to us, the lifelong friends who loved him.

  2. I am the old singer from Kim and Stevie Ray’s old Dallas/Austin band: “Blackbird”. Kim was the best with Stevie. The two were so different and that is why they worked well together. What can one say at a time like this? I am living in the Artic Circle for many years and just happened to find out about this this morning. God bless Kim. I remember those days in Irving before we moved down to Austin. Kim was notorious about sleeping all day long and he was the worst when it came to getting him up to rehearse! Those were the days. I can still see his long dark brown hair and that coolness he had about himself. Tomorrow is not promised, we just have this moment. Kim is unforgettable, I mourn his loss…

  3. I wouldn’t be too critical of the release of the ‘how’ regarding Kimbo’s passing – Wikipedia has it posted as well and I’m certain that in the days to follow: there will be more.

    Recall Kim for the laughs, the persistant smile, commitment to his friends and family and his willingness to help out in any situation is a far better use of time. I only wish I had been there to support him as he had supported me in a crisis. The world is significantly darker without him

  4. The wake for KImbo is FRIDAY nite 5-10 at Donnalley’s funeral home at 606 West Airport freeway, Irving 75062, ph # 972-579-1313. The funeral is Sat 10am. I worked for Kimbo at the Brook MAYS Pro shop for 3 years as his guitar tech and salesman. I now own the Texas Guitar Workshop in Richardson and owe KIMBO a whole lot to my success and being able to do what I DO. He was a players player and will sorely missed and never forgotten. I’m still trying to save the world Kimbo….one guitar at a time. Till then amigo….I’LL bring the salsa.

  5. We will miss Kimbo dearly…A True Texas Guitar Hero who paved the way for the next generation of Texas Axeslingers like myself…I am very saddened at this time that I am on tour in Europe and am unable to attend Kimbo’s Services…Thank you for your inspiration and your support Kimbo…make GOD ease your pain now…

  6. Thank you for the info on the wake. I was so afraid we would not get the info in time to go….We just saw him recently, it shows you how life is so precious and every moment counts… Joe is on a Blue’s Cruise till Sunday and won’t be able to attend.I will be there for Joe ,Phyllis,Bnois,etc…Kim was an old Irving friend and a fine musician. He will be missed very much.My deepest condolences to his family…Nora

  7. This is Kim’s daughter.

    He did not care about playing “every now and again” He wanted/needed to play. I believe if he had found the proper outlet, this would not have happened.

    I am also shocked at how careless his death has been reported in this story.

  8. R.I.P. Kim Davis. Kim was a friend I only saw twice a year at the guitar shows, but every time was a hugging reunion of old friends that took up right where they left off. His warm “hey Geo, how you been brother” was a greeting I looked forward to at every show and one that will be missed dearly. He was a great guitar player that made those players around him feel they were his equal… when very few were … point being, No ego, just genuine talent and loving nature that took every opportunity to lift others up. It saddens me that such a friendly and loving guy must have not felt enough same freindly and loving support to keep him from such a tragic decision. Andres Timones said it well, tell your friends you love them every chance you get.

  9. Kelly,
    my heart goes out to you. Your dad was a sweet man that always took the time to engage those around him, genuinely and sincerely. He was caring and loving in addition to being the tremendous player he was. I will miss him and his infectious smile. The last time I saw him at the Dallas show, I caught him up on my 21 year old son and he spoke of you…he sure lit up.

  10. I agree with Kim’s daughter. Whoever released how he died was not a friend of Kims. I find it deplorable it was found necessary to publish it and shame on you.My husband was Bill Randolph & I did not even publish a obit about him because I was trying to keep the vultures away. Apparently one got through where Kim is concerned.You apparently did not even know him he was a subject you published an opinion about. Those of us who “knew and loved him as a life long friend find your cavaliar reporting repulsive.

    • God bless you Donna my name is Wayne Stalzer I was friends with Dewayne an Sandy White Remember the good times.Miss Bill an all of you sorry lost touch with everyone memories are all we have now .

  11. I will always remember Kim as a kind and beautiful soul. My heart is aching for you Kelly and Jan. I want to see you all and I hope that I can get away to join the rest of the family in saying goodbye. You know Russell always felt that Kim was the big brother that he never had. Abel sends his hearfelt condolences; he remembers Kim as the “coolest” guy, he wishes that he could see you all there is so much of life that we have to catch up on. Kims sad passing should make us consider that family is family, no matter how far or how long its been since we’ve seen each other. I am so sorry and I love you all.

  12. Kim was one of the first people I met when I moved to Dallas. Through Kim I met a lot of muscians that I still call friends. Kim was funny, kind and giving. He was the only person I knew with a double stack Marshall in his bedroom…hahaha. Kim had a natural gift for playing. The first time I heard him play the opening for Little Wing it blew me away. Kim was loved and admired by a lot of people. He is going to be missed greatly but never forgotten. God speed Kim.

  13. Words really can’t describe what one feels at a time like this. For me, uncle Kim was a god. He was a wealth of history not just in life but in music. Always talking about the times he spent with this guy or that person or “Man I remember when…”. He always would tell me a new story every time we met and he would start up new topics about new stories that I could only imagine he was going to be having in the future. I remember that he would always say “Man” when he talked to me. Kind of like using the word “Dude” or “Buddy”, but I always liked “Man” because it sounded so cool coming from him. To this day, I use that word with everyone I talk to because of him.

    For us (his family) and for those that knew Kim closely (also his family 🙂 ) to have someone release out the ways of his passing really jerks at the heart. Yeah it is bound to get out, yes anyone can read about it in public records, but think about his grandkids or the immediate family that spent the weekends and holydays with him! Perhaps we were waiting to let them know in a more personal environment, not on the internet. However, once it’s out here, there is no stopping it. So now it just forces us to do one of two things. Either bring up earlier than we wanted or shield them from doing their own research. Unfortunately both are really crappy options that are now forced upon us. So think about that next time…maybe you should get permission before posting something like that. That’s all I have to say.

  14. Kelly: My condolences to you at this hard time. I hate that my article caused you and yours even more pain. I didn’t know your father, as was obvious in the writing. Instead I was reporting information gleaned from a couple of his friends. Point Blank was a pivotal band in Fort Worth rock history and readers are interested to find out what happened to one of its founding members. Your dad had a place in this town’s music history. I didn’t capture his essence in the report and I’m glad the comments section is filling up with people’s vivid descriptions of the man he was and how much he meant to them.

  15. Jeff,

    How about you pull that part of your article to show to some respect ? Just saying? Maybe the ones that told you this weren’t in to proper mindset to release that information to someone and certainly I would have only released the information once given the permission from the family even still? It’s not too late to make things right and do the right thing.

    I’m sure that the journalist in you can’t do this, but the human side should see it’s wrong after the daughter of the man has shown that this is NOT what she wants out there.

  16. Visitation and funeral arrangements were added to the original post. The information came from Rusty Burns, and I added a quote from him as well.

    Aaron, you’re right, the journalist in me won’t let me remove the cause of death.

    And you’re also right that the human side of me thinks it’s wrong not to remove it.

  17. Kelly, I considered your dad a friend, and just wanted to let you know how dearly he spoke of you!…He will be missed by many!…My prayers are with you…

  18. Kelly,Jan and Helen,Kim was my friend and brother for many years and I can,t tell you all that I learned from him.Mike Gage and I had the privelege of working with him in the studio in the last six months or so and I have to say his abilities as a player were tremendous and had only gotten better with age.We were humbled every time he struck a note.We will all miss him.Kelly,your dad was very proud of you and spoke of you often.You should be very proud of him.Jan,he loved you with all his heart.Helen,you couldn’t have raised a better son.He loved you all deeply.May God bring you peace.

  19. Jeff,

    The “reporter” in you will have to answer to the legal action I will be taking against you, this website and The FortWorthWeekly

    PS. You are a careless internet blogger, not a reporter.

  20. I first met Kimbo at the old Pro Shop back in 1987. At the time I didn’t know his background. He just seemed like a mellow cat with a big smile. I remember sitting down and playing a few blues licks in the back amp room and Kimbo would grab a guitar and play a few with me. Wow! He just knocked me out with his tone and technique. Yet, he never bragged about his skills. He gave me many such informal guitar lessons during his time at the ProShop and was always willing to share his “tone” knowledge with anyone who would listen. He knew more about Albert King than anyone I ever met and told me once that If I wanted to really play I’d better sit down and master “Laundromat Blues”. He was right! But more than anything else, I want to remember his ready smile and big heart. Scoot over Albert and Stevie; Kimbo will soon be trading licks with you note for note

  21. I met Kim via a friend who was a sound engineer for them all when they toured with ZZ…we saw him passing by once in the Ellum and he said “I’m still playin the blues but I’m not living the blues”…I have always remembered him from that day and that comment of wisdom. He helped me once pick out a new rig for my fiddle, amps, effects racks, pedals, road cases…he spent a bit of time with me over about two days and cut me a special deal on all of it. He was gracious and easy and kind and he did not have to use his time that way. He even helped me load it out to the truck. I still have and use all of it. What a cool person, what a player, what a soul. I should have told him these things when I knew him. I wish I could have known him more. I will pray in my way for him and his family and friends. This was hard to hear.

  22. I just got a call today from my brother about Kim’s death. God, what a shock! I want to express my condolences to his daughter that I never met, but learnt about some years ago from Kim. I first met young Kim in Irving in 1964. He and my brother Jerry went to elementary school together. Jerry would bring Kim over to our home sometimes after school. I remember when Kim had just got his first guitar and didn’t have a finger callus yet. We would sometimes visit with Kim at his mother’s home. Living in Florida for many years, I didn’t get to visit with Kim often enough over the years. But when we’d get together, we’d catch up quickly. Jerry and I are both going to miss him a lot. He had a very warm smile and a great heart. Truly, like a brother to us both. To my ear, Kim was one of the best pickers in Texas. It was a pleasure to have known him.

  23. Kim Davis was a beautiful person inside and out.Kim was my cousin whom my father was crazy about and gave Kim his first guitar.I used to sit in my Keller home and listen to stevie ray and zz top along with Kim playing in my living room. Kim deserves to be left alone to allow Kelly to adjust as easily as Godly possible.Kim Davis was a great man.Enough Said Darcei Davis

  24. I was thinking about Kim tonight and found this article. I am a cousin of Kim’s. My mom, Marquerite (Harris) Rennie and Kim’s mom, Helen were 1st cousins, so I guess that makes me a 3rd cousin. Every summer we’d visit my grandmother Elsie Harris in Dallas, and come out to Irving to visit Helen and Kim. I remember the day we pulled into the driveway and I heard his electric guitar wailing from his bedroom. I was 14 or 15 around 1963 or 4. Kim had his double stack Marshall and a Gibson Les Paul Jr. we spent the rest of the day jammin. He was truly a talented musician. That night he asked if I wanted to come to his band rehearsal. My mom told me NO, so that didn’t happen. It was years later that I found out that that band was SRV’s and Kim’s first band.
    Having lived my whole life in Massachisets, I lost track of Kim over the years, only seeing him once when he was touring with ZZ Top in Providence RI back in 1975. We all went back to his hotel and played acoustic guitars until we were asked to knock it off by the management. It was one of my fondest memories of Kim. We laughed and played and reconnected.
    Kelly, if you happen to read this, please know that I send you my deepest condolences at this terrible loss. Your dad was a good and talented man and I am sure he is deeply missed by anyone who ever loved and knew him..
    Peace to all my Texas family,
    Jim

  25. …i first heard Kim’s voice coming out my little radio in 1979 in Houston,Tx. I was 17. Kim and company was such an inspiration that there is not enough room here to list. Thank you Lord for the chance some years later to cross paths with Kim in Dallas. As do all of you, from his dearest close friends to his immediate family that loved Kim so very much, I get very emotional and choked up even now… when I just want to see that look on his face again when he had a guitar in his hands. I miss you Kim. Thank you brother for your giving spirit.

  26. I remember when he got his first guitar.
    It was his love and passion from the beginning.
    Always a good friend. We climbed trees in the woods by our house.
    A cool cat
    RIP brother.

    Smick

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