Josie Davis

Josephine "Josie" Wagoner, later Josie Davis, grew up in Rancho Cordova, California, in a home where family, responsibility, faith, and music would become central parts of her life. Her story with Norton Davis began in 1967, when they were both third-grade students at Peter Shields Elementary School.

Norton had been teasing her in front of his friends, insisting that girls could not do anything as well as boys. Josie warned him to stop.

When he did not, she finally fought back. The two were suspended from school, and Josie was instructed to bring Norton something when they returned.

The following Monday, Josie arrived at the principal's office carrying a decorated shoebox filled with double chocolate chip cookies. Later that day, she joined Norton on a breezeway bench at lunch.

Their conversation changed everything. Josie asked why he had teased her, and Norton admitted that he had simply wanted to know her but did not know how to ask.

Josie looked at him for a moment, smiled, and quietly introduced herself: "I'm Josie Wagoner." Norton introduced himself in return. Their awkward handshake marked the beginning of a friendship that would shape both of their lives.

Josie's home was modest but warm. Her mother kept the household together, her younger brother looked up to her, and her father, Jorge, had become seriously ill and was no longer able to work as he once had.

Money could be tight, but the Wagoner home had a sense of welcome that made a deep impression on Norton. Josie carried responsibilities beyond her years, helping her mother, caring for her younger brother, and doing whatever was needed around the house.

When Norton began mowing lawns to earn money, Josie became his partner. Norton proposed that if she helped with the work, they would use part of their earnings to buy groceries for her family each Saturday.

What began as a practical arrangement quickly became Norton and Josie's Lawn Service. They printed door hangers, built a waiting list, opened joint checking and savings accounts, and before long were caring for dozens of yards.

Josie handled garden beds, weeds, pruning, flowers, and detailed finishing work while Norton focused on edging, mowing, fertilizing, and other heavy tasks. They worked side by side with a quiet understanding of what needed to be done.

Ernie and Martha Tanaka, family friends who lived near the American River, helped teach them the finer points of gardening and landscape care. The business grew beyond basic lawn service into planting, greenhouse work, landscaping, and sprinkler installation.

Josie developed a strong eye for flowers, shrubs, groundcovers, planters, and garden design. She and Norton were still children, but they worked with a seriousness and discipline that made the business successful.

Music was growing just as quickly. Josie had always wanted to play piano, and when neighbors offered a small spinet piano for sale, Norton helped her buy it and had it professionally tuned.

Josie began weekly lessons at Rancho Cordova Music Store and proved to be naturally gifted. She progressed quickly, and the piano soon became part of nearly every evening.

Norton would bring his guitar into her room, and the two would practice songs, experiment with arrangements, and begin to sing together.

Their musical connection developed naturally because they already understood each other so well. Guitar and piano began to fit together in a way that reflected their friendship: each made room for the other.

Norton's Uncle Hector, an accomplished jazz guitarist, began teaching them as a pair, showing them more about musicianship, harmony, rhythm, and how to perform together. These sessions gave Josie a broader musical foundation and helped move her from piano student to ensemble musician.

Throughout elementary school and into junior high, Josie balanced music, straight-A academics, church, family responsibilities, and the growing lawn business. She was independent and strong-willed, but also deeply loyal.

Her friendship with Norton gradually became a lifelong partnership. By the time they entered Mills Jr. High School, everyone around them understood that Norton and Josie were together. They did not make a show of it; they simply lived as a team, supporting one another through school, work, family, and music.

In March 1972, Josie's father, Jorge, died suddenly. The loss changed the Wagoner household overnight.

Josie and her mother grieved together, while Norton remained beside them and helped manage the practical details of the funeral. Josie and Norton had already agreed that they would help cover the costs when the time came, and they followed through.

In the months that followed, Josie worked with Norton to help her mother move forward. They cleaned and renovated the home, replaced furniture, reorganized the household, and encouraged her mother to pursue college and nursing school, something she had long wanted to do.

Music remained one of the constants through that transition. Josie eventually added electric piano and synthesizer to her instruments, including Roland and Yamaha keyboards she had long hoped to own.

Josie also plays violin, mandolin, autoharp, and dulcimers.

She and Norton continued to practice and write, and as they entered their high school years they began looking for other musicians who could expand what they were creating together.

In 1973, Norton and Josie met drummer Randy Morgan, and Josie also met bassist Kathy Barton, a quiet but outstanding musician from Folsom High School who lived in Rancho Cordova. Norton converted much of the Wagoner garage into a rehearsal studio, and the four began practicing together.

The basic arrangement was simple but effective: Josie's piano and synthesizer, Norton's guitar, Kathy's bass, and Randy's drums. Vocally, Josie became a central part of the band's sound.

She and Kathy sang duets, joined Norton in three-part harmonies, and each could step forward for lead vocals when a song called for it.

Uncle Hector continued to coach the group, and Norton and Josie invested in a full PA system, microphones, stands, and eventually a lighting system. By the end of tenth grade the group had developed a set list of about sixty songs, including roughly twenty originals.

That was the beginning of The Norton Davis Band.

The band soon became a regular choice for school dances, Christian and Catholic youth events, picnics, and performances across Northern California. A booking agent helped them expand their schedule, and Ernie and Martha Tanaka became part of the road team, learning sound and lighting.

Norton and Josie purchased a used Winnebago and painted The Norton Davis Band on its sides, turning it into an early band bus. As music took more of their time, they hired workers to help maintain the lawn business they had built together as children.

For Josie, the path from that first spinet piano to The Norton Davis Band was never separate from the rest of her life. Music grew alongside family, hard work, faith, loss, friendship, and the partnership she shared with Norton.

She became a pianist, keyboardist, vocalist, and founding member whose musical instincts had been shaped by years of playing beside the same guitarist, learning how to listen, support, and create as part of a whole.

Josie Davis's story is one of strength expressed quietly. She was the girl who refused to be bullied, the daughter who helped hold a family together, the young business partner who could work a garden as carefully as she played a piano, and the musician whose keys and voice became part of the foundation of The Norton Davis Band.

Her story and Norton's will always intersect, but Josie's contribution stands on its own: discipline, musicianship, loyalty, and a steady grace that helped turn two childhood friends into a band.