{"id":258966,"date":"2025-10-29T15:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/258966\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T15:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:51:14","slug":"4-unforgettable-supertramp-songs-written-and-sung-by-the-late-rick-davies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/258966\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Unforgettable Supertramp Songs Written and Sung by the Late Rick Davies"},"content":{"rendered":"

On September 6, 2025, the world of classic rock lost another great one with the death of Rick Davies at age 81. Davies made a huge impact on music in the 70s and 80s as one of the leaders of the British band Supertramp.<\/p>\n

Davies played keyboards and also served as one of Supertramp\u2019s chief singers and songwriters. Here are four classic songs from the band that featured his gruff, bluesy lead vocals.<\/p>\n

\u201cBloody Well Right\u201d from \u2018Crime Of The Century\u2019 (1974)<\/p>\n

Supertramp featured its own songwriting team, a la Lennon\/McCartney, in Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. But unlike the Beatles\u2019 duo, these guys didn\u2019t write together all that often, especially in the band\u2019s heyday. Instead, one or the other would write individual tracks. The person who wrote it generally sang on that track. \u201cBloody Well Right\u201d helped establish the dichotomy between the pair. \u201cDreamer\u201d set up Hodgson as the writer of ornate pop melodies and somewhat somber lyrics. \u201cBloody Well Right\u201d displayed Davies\u2019 affinity for bluesier material, which suited his gritty vocals. Davies also often included slightly comical musical elements in his work, such as the outsized call-and-response vocals in this track.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodbye Stranger\u2019 from \u2018Breakfast In America\u2019 (1979)<\/p>\n

For the most part, Hodgson dominated the writing and singing of Supertramp\u2019s hit singles. But Breakfast In America<\/a> was such a smash that the album went way deep with hits. \u201cGoodbye Stranger\u201d once again shows off Davies\u2019 willingness to play a bit in the songs that he fronts. You might not believe it, but that\u2019s him doing the falsetto vocals in the catchy countermelody refrain. The song hints at the nature of being a traveling rock star, as the narrator tries to explain to a lover that he can\u2019t be tied down too long in one place. Breakfast In America made Supertramp unlikely superstars at a somewhat late stage in their career. But it also amped up the pressure, which heightened tensions between Davies and Hodgson.<\/p>\n

\u201cCannonball\u201d from \u2018Brother Where You Bound\u2019 (1985)<\/p>\n

When Supertramp made the album \u2026Famous Last Words\u2026, released in 1982, Hodgson and Davies had turned into a partnership in name only. Hodgson left for a solo career after that, leaving Davies as the chief singer and songwriter. Part of what made the group so potent in its finest years was the variety from song to song that was fostered by the two different voices. As a result, the post-Hodgson era couldn\u2019t quite compete in the same way. But Davies rose to the occasion several times with standout tracks that deserved more attention than they received. \u201cCannonball\u201d served as the first single off Brother Where You Bound, the first post-Hodgson album. And it delivers a horn-fueled, sneering punch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Beggin\u2019 You\u2019 from \u2018Free As A Bird\u2019 (1987)<\/p>\n

Not too many people would have predicted Supertramp to top the dance charts in America. But Davies and company had already made a career out of upending expectations, so why not? In later years, the band would move away from the highly produced, synth-driven approach of their 1987 album Free As A Bird. But you can\u2019t deny that \u201cI\u2019m Beggin\u2019 You\u201d delivers a unique m\u00e9lange of sounds. It combines an electronic beat with a suave foundation of words and melody that wouldn\u2019t sound out of place in the Great American Songbook. It even featured a special effects-laden video that stood out for that era. Granted, it\u2019s a bit of an oddball, but a fun one. And it displayed Davies\u2019 ability to stand out in any setting.<\/p>\n

Photo by Brill\/ullstein bild via Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On September 6, 2025, the world of classic rock lost another great one with the death of Rick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216,87882,2156,87883],"class_list":{"0":"post-258966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-rick-davies","11":"tag-rock-music","12":"tag-supertramp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}