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Rusty Day | |
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_(cropped).png) Day in 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Russell Edward Davidson |
| Born | (1945-12-29)December 29, 1945 Garden City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 1982(1982-06-03) (aged 36) Longwood, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock,blues rock |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1966–1982 |
| Formerly of |
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Rusty Day (bornRussell Edward Davidson; December 29, 1945 – June 3, 1982) was an American rock singer,[1] best known for his work withCactus,the Amboy Dukes, andSteve Gaines.
Day joined the Amboy Dukes in 1969 after their former vocalist was fired. Day had just quit his own band, Rusty Day & the Midnighters. He stayed only for one album,Migration.
Cactus was conceived in late1969 as a supergroup of theVanilla Fudgerhythm section,bassistTim Bogert and drummerCarmine Appice, plus guitaristJeff Beck and singerRod Stewart. However, Beck had an automobile accident and Stewart joinedRonnie Wood inFaces. Out of frustration, Bogert and Appice formed what became Cactus in early 1970. The cast was complete when Day joined them on vocals andJim McCarty joined onlead guitar.
Having made a name for himself inDetroit's rock scene, Day worked to restorethe Band Detroit to national prominence. The Band Detroit was formed as an offshoot ofthe Detroit Wheels by membersSteve Gaines (who later joinedLynyrd Skynyrd), Teddy "T-Mel" Smith, Nathaniel Peterson, Terry Emery, Bill Hodgeson, and others. There is a recording of Rusty Day, Steve Gaines, and the rest of the band performing in 1973 calledThe Band Detroit – The Driftwood Tapes, which was released as a Lynyrd Skynyrd bootleg in 1998.
In 1976, Day re-incarnated Cactus by placing an ad inRolling Stone which stated that he needed exceptionally good guitar, bass, and drums. This lineup lasted from 1976 until 1979, and featured Gary "Madman" Moffatt, who currently plays drums for.38 Special.
Day claimed to have turned downAC/DC's request to have him join their band to replaceBon Scott, andRossington-Collins's request to have him replaceRonnie Van Zant. The veracity of these claims has long been questioned. He eventually formed the Uncle Acid & the Permanent Damage Band, which gained him a deal withEpic Records.
Rusty Day formed his last band, the Rusty Day Band, in 1979 and hired Jacksonville guitarist Mike Owings. Owings had just left the Jacksonville, Florida bandLizzy Borden with Steve Gaines' brother, Bob Gaines, as drummer. Owings was then 20 years old.
Day was fatally shot at his home on June 3, 1982. His 11-year-old son, his dog, and Garth McRae were also fatally shot. The murder officially remains unsolved, although theSeminole County Sheriff's Office believe the victims may have known the perpetrator, and that the killings may have been drug-related.[2] In 2011 and 2015, it was asserted that Ron Sanders, guitarist and bandmate in Uncle Acid & the Permanent Damage Band, was the perpetrator of the shooting. Sanders shot himself six weeks after the murders, when police surrounded his home on other matters.[3][4][5]
