Margo Davidson

Early background

Davidson was born in Simcoe, Ontario and attended Simcoe Composite School where she developed her musical talent. Davidson's father died in 1971; she had one brother and two step-siblings. Her brother David, a trombonist, was also involved in music, as a high school music teacher and performer.

Davidson initially played both piano and saxophone, and was a member of the Simcoe Composite School band. She formed her first music group, a jazz quartet, while a high school student, and played semi-professionally in the Simcoe area.

Musician

Davidson was a saxophonist, percussionist and vocalist with The Parachute Club during its entire recording career and period of its greatest international popularity (1982–1989). Following the initial breakup of the band Davidson, with the exception of the occasional guest performance (see below), chose to leave the music business entirely and spent the balance of her life working with organizations dedicated to assisting the homeless.

Davidson arrived in Toronto from Simcoe in 1975, following graduation from Simcoe Composite School. She briefly attended the University of Toronto, and commenced playing with local bands. With Toronto female singer Robin Wells, with whom Davidson had been associated in a previous band, Davidson co-founded The Wells-Davidson Band in 1978, playing rhythm and blues and rock music. The band was distinctive as being one of a minority of bands led by two women. At that time, and through the 1980s, Davidson was also notable as one of very few female saxophonists playing professionally, predating such artists as Candy Dulfer, Katja Rieckermann and Colleen Allen. In terms of the Toronto music scene of the late 1970s, she was a contemporary of Dianne Heatherington, with whom she played on occasion. Davidson later joined Kid Rainbow, a band established by Toronto singer-songwriter Gary O'Connor as a means to promote his songs. She also played in a stage version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show that toured Toronto and area venues.

Both The Wells-Davidson Band and Kid Rainbow met with a degree of local success though it was after being invited in 1982 to form The Parachute Club that Davidson achieved international fame. As a member of The Parachute Club Davidson was the recipient of two Juno Awards for Most Promising Group of The Year in 1984 and for Group of the Year in 1985. Davidson's role with The Parachute Club was primarily as a musician and harmony vocalist, though she is also the co-writer (with John Oates, Lorraine Segato and Lauri Conger) of "Love Is Fire", the lead single from the band's third album, Small Victories.

Davidson was briefly a member of the well known Toronto band Bratty and The Babysitters, in 1988, when the future of The Parachute Club was uncertain, playing a mix of "rock, reggae calypso, soca, pop and other musical genres". Bratty and the Babysitters disbanded in 1989, the same year that The Parachute Club formally disbanded for the first time, though the latter's last public performances became those at Toronto's Ontario Place in July 1988.

In relation to her decision to leave the music business noted Canadian singer, songwriter and broadcaster Murray McLauchlan commented as follows: "On or off the stage, she was so present. She had a spark. It made me happy to see her. It made me happy to see the obvious joy when she played her horn. I respected her decision to seek other paths but I sure missed seeing her around." Filmmaker and Parachute Club lyricist Lynne Fernie described Davidson as follows: "Margo was one of those rare people gifted with a magnetic stage presence. She touched thousands of people's souls with her extraordinary sax solos when she played with The Parachute Club. And she touched all of us who knew her with her wry humour and dedication to music."

Advocate for the homeless

After the initial breakup of The Parachute Club, followed by her choice to leave the music business, Davidson became a creative writer and a director of St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society, based in Toronto. She was also an outreach worker at Eva's Phoenix, a transitional housing project dedicated to life skills and homeless youth.

In terms of her work on behalf of the homeless, Reverend Brian Burch, President of St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society, commented as follows: "She was an important part of making sure that St. Clare's got off the ground and that our first project, transitional housing at 25 Leonard, came into being. I never heard Margo the musician, but I often heard her laugh and give encouragement when we had to deal with politicians, NIMBY organisations and construction delays....We were fortunate to have as staff and consultants people like...Margo Davidson (yes, the Margo who was part of the Parachute Club), who have poked and prodded us into being a board of management, a challenge given our background in movement activism."

Death

For much of her life, particularly in her latter years, Davidson was profoundly affected by depression and alcoholism. Davidson died in her Toronto home on Saturday, May 17, 2008. Her funeral and interment were in Simcoe on May 23, 2008. Her cause of death was not publicly disclosed, and Davidson left no publicly acknowledged partner.

Following Davidson's death, The Parachute Club released the following statement:

Davidson is interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Simcoe.

With The Parachute Club

Other