No one wakes up Memphis in the morning like Michael Adrian Davis and his "Early Morning Praise Party" on Hallelujah 95.7 FM. With his unique blend of humor and spirituality, it's no surprise why he has one of the top morning radio shows in Memphis. His warm and witty personality doesn't turn off once he is off the air. As a radio personality, an actor and now the host of Video Praise (PAX Cable Television), this Northside High School class of 1982 graduate is well on his way to becoming the Tom Joyner of gospel radio.

Davis has fond memories of his childhood growing up in North Memphis. "Life for me as I know it started on Woodlawn Street located behind Humes Jr. High School. As a matter of fact, it's the only house on that particular side of the street that still remains standing." By the time he started at Northside, his family had moved on North Parkway between Decatur and Ayers Street . While his other brothers and sisters attended Tech High School , Davis decided to attend Northside High School. "I went to Northside because I wanted to sing in the choir," says Davis.

Under the guidance of his music teacher Ms. June Glenn, Davis participated in the Choir and Glee Club. He was also a member of the Imperial Gents male social club. As with other students that attended Northside, Davis was also influenced by Northside's faculty and staff. However, there were two faculty members that influenced him the most, Ms. June Glenn and Ms. Katherine Crawford. "As my English teacher, Ms. Crawford impressed upon me a love for words and a desire to learn the meaning of them," says Davis . Ms. Glenn assisted Davis in acquiring a choir scholarship to attend college.

As graduation was approaching, Davis had aspirations of becoming an attorney. His desire to go into the legal profession stemmed from his mother's career as a probation officer for the Juvenile Court System. "My thoughts were to go to college, law school and then become a lawyer," says Davis, "maybe something like entertainment law." Davis enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Communication. After graduating from college, Davis worked at Mid-South Hospital in Memphis before getting bitten by the broadcasting bug in 1989.

In order to become knowledgeable in broadcasting, Davis decided to attend the Columbia School of Broadcasting. Three months into the program, he met Gregory Michael Seagers. At that time, Seagers was working at station 107 FM. The station was owned by Willis Broadcasting. At that time, it was the first FM gospel radio station in Memphis . Seagers convinced Davis to attend his school of broadcasting. "I started off doing the public service announcements. It would take me 3 hours to do a 30-second announcement. It was a good proving ground for me."

Davis soon got his own air time at the station. He started out with a 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday night time slot. Because he was so enthusiastic about working at the radio station, he would stay at the station until midnight. Davis would also help out at the station during the week. "My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, would say to me 'When are you going to get a real job'," says Davis . Finally, he started working at the station five days a week. When the format of the radio station changed to contemporary music and jazz, Davis went over the Praise 1030 AM station. His ultimate goal was to work in television. Therefore, when radio executive Tracy Bethea offered him an opportunity to work part-time as a production manager for station V101 FM and The Light 990 AM, he jumped at the chance. After working as a production manager for a year, Davis was asked to fill in for Tracy Bethea a couple of times. "People liked what they heard. Next thing you know, I became the morning drive for the Mad Morning Show . A year later, I added Bill Anderson and made Linda Covington, who was already doing traffic, become more a part of the show." Radio is not all that occupies Davis' time.

Davis worked for the Blues City Culture Center for two years as a professional actor. He has performed in the plays Fences, Amen Corner and Raisin in the Sun at Play House on The Square. The last play that Davis performed in was The House Is Not A Home. The play was performed at the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries during their Sexual Healing Conference. Davis not only performed in the play but co-wrote it with Myra Moses. He has also acted in commercials for Auto Plan Insurance. With his busy schedule, he still finds time for family.

Davis is a very devoted husband and father of two children. He has been married to wife Vera for fourteen years. They met while they were students at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff . His thirteen-year-old son Michael plays basketball for White Station Middle School and the Youth Ministry at New Direction Christian Church. Eight-year-old daughter Kristen is a member of a dance team at her school. She also plays basketball for New Direction Ministry Christian Church. Davis says that he tries to teach his children that nobody owes them anything, because you get out of life what you put into it. He also tells them that pouting and complaining doesn't accomplish anything. "I tell them to work for someone long enough to learn how the system works," says Davis , "I try to instill in them an entrepreneurial spirit so that they can create wealth for themselves." He says that he also teaches them the fear of God, the Love of God and to keep God first in their lives.