Davis was born in
Wichita, Kansas, and raised in
Chicago, Illinois. By the mid-1930s, she had met and been influenced by
Fats Waller, and performed regularly as a singer and pianist in Chicago clubs. In 1939, while married to her first husband, she first met
bass player Calvin Ponder (October 17, 1917 - December 26, 1970), who went on to play in
Earl Hines' band. The pair would marry in 1948. In 1948, Davis and Ponder moved to California, and Davis developed her recording career on
Jewel Records in
Hollywood with a trio including Ponder, Ralph Williams (guitar) and
Lee Young (drums). Their cover of
Dick Haymes' pop hit "Little White Lies" reached # 11 on the Billboard
R&B chart, followed by a duet with
Louis Jordan, "Daddy-O" in 1948, which reached #7 on the R&B chart that year. Davis and Ponder also began performing together on stage, developing a musical and comedy routine as "Martha Davis & Spouse" which played on their physical characteristics (she was large, he was smaller). The act became hugely popular, touring and having a residency at the
Blue Angel in
New York City. They appeared together in movies including
Smart Politics (with
Gene Krupa), and in the mid-1950s, variety films
Rhythm & Blues Revue, ''Rock 'n' Roll Revue
and Basin Street Revue''. Several of their performances were filmed by
Snader Telescriptions for video jukeboxes, and they also broadcast on network TV, particularly
Garry Moore's
CBS show. In 1957, after a break of several years, they resumed recording for the ABC
Paramount label, with whom they cut two LPs. Davis died from cancer in
New York in 1960, aged 42, and Ponder died ten years later, aged 53. == References ==