About the Artists
Barbara Taft has a unique voice. Everybody says so. "Voice like an angel." "Clear as a bell." "Unforgettable voice." These are some of the words people have used to describe it. Some, while declaring her voice unique, have compared her to Joan Baez and Emmy Lou Harris. Maybe it's because of her bold use of vibrato that clearly marks her voice as distinct from almost any other.
Barbara began her musical journey in Detroit, where she grew up singing duets with her sister. In their late teens, both of them joined the performance group "The Motif," 12 multi-ethnic voices led by the illustrious choirmaster, Tillis Butler. Both sisters honed their harmonies to a fine point and presented them in performances on weekly TV shows, radio, and in regular public concerts.
Moving to Houston, Barbara became the choir director at a local church, where she met her husband, Abraham Davidson. Together, they formed the inspirational duo "Barbara and Abraham" and the folk-country duo "Princess and the Cowboy."
Barbara and Abraham moved to Austin, where she was cast as one of Elvis Presley's backup singers in the Touchstone film Heartbreak Hotel, and she produced her first solo album “Raw Material.” The very personal songs on this upbeat album document her journey of healing from the effects of childhood sexual and physical abuse to become a beautiful and independent activist and voice for social change.
"Their music never ceases to amaze and move me. They 'draw down Spirit' so that their audiences are given an opportunity to transcend human limitations for a while and leave more enriched.” Rev. Jill C. Cary, Senior Minister, Unity Center, Austin. Texas
“Barbara and Abraham enchant their listeners with a peaceful and soul-reaching depth that is uncommon among performers. Barbara’s voice touches deep within the listener, and Abraham's harmonies and guitar support make a perfect blend.” Rev. Karen Tudor, Minister, Unity of New Braunfels Texas
“They are genuine people with a great deal of ‘heart energy’ which they communicate in music.” Rev. Linda R. Pendergrass, Unity Church of Austin
“What makes them extraordinary is that they are not only quite competent, but they bring a transcendent quality to their work. . . There is a kind of resonance when they perform. They open our hearts. We come away feeling good about ourselves." Rev. Richard Imprescia, Minister New Vision Center of Religious Science, Austin Texas.
“They are the most incredible musicians... When I hear them sing and play, I am enormously uplifted... Barbara’s voice and spirit are angelic... And Abraham's guitar... and mellow tones add the perfect harmony and elegance to their performance... They are world-class.” Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson, Minister, Austin Center for Spiritual Living.
Barbara Taft is originally from Detroit, and Abraham Davidson is from South Texas. Although they come from disparate musical backgrounds, they have found a way to meet and blend in the songs they write and perform together, all of which emerge from their deep commitment to peace and the One spirit manifest in all things.
Take an African American singer from Motown, who grew up on Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson tunes, and a Caucasian Texas boy, who grew up riding his step-father’s plow horse bareback and trying to mimic Hank Williams, and put them together and what do you get?
Why you get Princess and the Cowboy, of course, the most unusual folk-country duo west of the Sabine River. “Princess” is Barbara Ann Taft, a Detroit native who got the nickname “Princess Anne” from her mother, who, it seems, used it in a derisive way. “The Cowboy” is Abraham Davidson, who chose the name as a nod to the Bee County of his youth, the cattle and oil center of South Texas.
The couple, now married, met in Houston and soon began singing together wherever they could find a slot. Anderson Fair, Café Edi, community centers, and churches all heard the sweet high soprano and rough baritone of their voices blended together. Moving to Austin, they appeared at the Cactus Café, the Saxon Pub, Cafezino, the Paramount Theater, and other venues, including KUT Liveset and the Kerrville Folk Festival. They rounded up some of Austin’s best musicians to record their album of original tunes, “Princess and the Cowboy, Vol. 1,” which garnered good reviews and local airplay.
In recent years, they have focused their programs on uplifting those in the Senior Community with their mix of a variety of popular standards and original tunes.
“Their vocals are impeccable, and Abe’s craft as a songwriter is . . . finely tuned and there are few duos who can execute lyrics and melodies as they do . . . JCCA, Austin
“When Davidson’s in top form and Taft’s up front . . .the music grabs you by the throat . . . a killer combination.” Music City Texas
International Minstrel
Sailing out of New York harbor bound for Israel in the wake of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Abraham lived on a kibbutz for over a year then set out on a hitch-hiking tour of a dozen European countries. Following the minstrel trail, he sang on street corners, in pubs and concert halls, transforming as he went his deep experience into music: touching ballads of love and loss, courageous songs of social concern, stirring anthems of universal brotherhood combining the tempo of modern Israel with images of a world that lies beyond our current vision. Many of these songs were included on his album, “Children of Creation,” released on the Rainbow Artists Guild label in 1981.
A Texas born singer/songwriter, Abraham counts musicians as diverse as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, The Moody Blues and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach as influences on his songwriting and performing style.
Returning to Houston, Abraham played at the usual folk venues: Sand Mountain Coffee House, Prufrock’s and Houlihans.
In addition, he appeared frequently at the Jewish Community Center and performed on KPFT radio, at the Houston Festival and for the Houston Folklore Society.
Abraham has entertained audiences at the Centre American in Paris, in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Athens, London and Bremen, Germany. He has appeared at the Boarding House Theater and the Red Victorian Hotel in San Francisco, and historic Gerdes Folk City and Speakeasy Club in New York. He has also been a New Folk performer on the Kerrville Folk Festival stage. And then, he met Barbara Taft...
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