David Causey: A Life in Music

This is the story of David. No, not that David, the David of the Bible. This is the story of Decatur, Illinois native and musician David Causey, my Uncle. However, like the David of the Bible, who played the lyre and sang songs, David Causey played the guitar and sang songs. In fact, as of the writing of this book in 2021, he still does play guitar and sing for himself and friends.

David, or Dave to his friends, had a long musical history in Decatur, fronting Decatur’s first rock and roll band, The Headhunters in the 50s, to the Trambones who played dates with the Elvis Presley band, and to being the rhythm guitarist and vocalist for the popular dance band, The Blue Notes, into the 70s. His musical sojourn also took him to South Bend, Indiana and he spent a year playing bass guitar in a Surf band in southern California at the beginning of the surf movement in the early 60s. From fronting Decatur’s first Rock band to playing in a Surf band in southern California, David really was at the forefront of many musical first waves.

This book is my own attempt to honor my Uncle’s musical career, and that of the musicians, many from Decatur, he played with.

The book contains over sixty black and white, and color photos from 1954 through 2007, including the 1959 Elvis Presley band with Scotty Moore, Reggie Young, Bill Black, DJ Fontana and Joe Lee. There are many photos of vintage Gibson, Gretsch, Martin, National and Fender guitars, as well as Fender and Gibson amps, all being played by the musicians.

David Causey: A Life in Music is a is a hardback book with 60 black and white and full color glossy pages.