Clara Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel artist who achieved great success, both artistic and commercial, in the 1940s and 1950s as leader of The Famous Ward Singers.
A gifted singer and arranger, Ward took the lead-switching style used by male gospel quartets to new heights, leaving room for spontaneous improvisation and vamping by each member of the group while giving virtuoso singers such as Marion Williams the opportunity to step forward in songs such as "Surely, God Is Able" (among the first million-selling gospel hits), "How I Got Over" (which she wrote; one of the most famous songs in the Black gospel repertoire), and "Packin' Up".
Clara Ward's mother, Gertrude Ward (1901–1981), founded the Ward Singers in 1931 as a family group, then called variously The Consecrated Gospel Singers or The Ward Trio, consisting of herself, her youngest daughter Clara, and her elder daughter Willa.
Clara Ward made her first solo recording in 1940 and continued accompanying the Ward Gospel Trio.
The Ward Singers began touring nationally in 1943, after making a memorable appearance at the National Baptist Convention held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that year. Henrietta Waddy joined the group in 1947 after Willa Ward retired; she added a rougher alto and the enthusiastic stage manners taken from her South Carolina church background. The group's performance style, such as the mimed packing of suitcases as part of the song "Packin' Up", may have been condemned by some purists as "clowning" but was wildly popular with their audiences.
The addition of Marion Williams, who came out of the Pentecostal tradition growing up in Miami, Florida, brought even more to the group. A powerful singer with a preternaturally broad range, she was able to reach the highest registers of the soprano range without losing either purity or volume, and could also swoop down to growling low notes in the style of a country preacher. Williams' singing helped make the group nationally popular when they began recording in 1948.
In 1949 the Ward Singers toured from Philadelphia to California in their new Cadillac, appeared on TV in Hollywood, and recorded for the Miltone Record Company of Los Angeles. The Miltone recordings were purchased in a multi-artist package by Gotham Record Company, which had moved to Philadelphia. Gotham's Irv Ballen recorded some new Ward material, including "Surely God Is Able", and some of the Ward Singers' Gotham recordings were transferred to Savoy Record Company in Newark, New Jersey to settle a contract dispute. When Savoy began contracting with the Ward Singers for new recordings in the 1950s, they were mostly recorded and engineered in Bergen County, New Jersey by Rudy Van Gelder.
In 1950, Clara Ward and the Famous Ward Singers of Philadelphia made their first appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York City on a gospel program titled Negro Music Festival, produced by gospel music pioneer Joe Bostic, sharing the stage with Mahalia Jackson and appearing there at Carnegie Hall on Bostic's program again in 1952.
Over the years, Gertrude Ward created a booking agency for gospel acts, sponsored tours under the name "The Ward Gospel Cavalcade", established a publishing house for gospel music, and even wrote a book for churches on how to promote gospel programs. Gertrude also created and managed a second group, "The Clara Ward Specials", to accompany the Ward Singers. Although as musical director of the Ward franchise Clara was willing to share the spotlight with her talented co-singers, she and her mother were tightfisted about sharing the group's financial rewards with other members. According to Willa Ward's biography of Clara Ward, with the exception of Gertrude and Clara, Willa and other members of the group were grossly underpaid. In addition, their meager earnings were further reduced because Gertrude and Clara provided their housing and charged them for it. Accordingly, stars such as Marion Williams and Frances Steadman not only had to accept second billing and lesser pay for their work, but pay their employers rent out of their earnings.
Williams left the group in 1958 when her demand for a raise and reimbursement for hotel expenses was rejected; she was followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the group—Henrietta Waddy, Esther Ford, Frances Steadman and Kitty Parham—who formed a new group, "The Stars of Faith". Their departure marked the end of the glory days for the Ward Singers, who later alienated much of their churchgoing audience by performing in Las Vegas, nightclubs, and other secular venues in the 1960s.[citation needed] By this time the late Queen of Gospel Dr. Albertina Walker had formed her group The Caravans in 1952, following the advice of her mentor the great Mahalia Jackson, and the spotlit had transitioned to them as they blazed the gospel trail.
In 1963 Clara Ward was the second gospel singer to sing gospel songs on Broadway in Langston Hughes' play Tambourines To Glory. She was also the musical director for this play. The first being her former group members, which were known as the Stars of Faith, which starred Langston Hughes in the first Gospel stage play and first play that featured an all black cast to be produced on Broadway, The Black Nativity.
While performing at the Castaways Lounge in Miami Beach, Florida, in the 1960s, Clara collapsed and was rushed to the hospital and told if she recovered she would never sing or walk again. Gertrude Ward telephoned Mother Dabney, a spiritual healer in Philadelphia, PA, and Clara miraculously was restored to health. Details were reported in the Gospel News Journal published by Marvin Bunton. Clara later recounted this experience in a church service at the Wayside Chapel in Sydney, Australia. This testimony was released on an LP issued on the WARD label along with Clara singing "The Lord's Prayer" and a few other Ward musical selections.
During the group's heyday, however, it was both widely popular and highly influential, emphasizing glamor—traveling in over-sized Cadillacs, preferring sequined gowns for choir robes, and wearing wigs and jewelry that more conservative churchgoing women considered too worldly—while bringing Gertrude Ward's shrewd entrepreneurial sense to the gospel music business at large. Though Gertrude was a savvy negotiator, her understanding of the value of music copyrights was limited. According to Willa Ward, Gertrude was misled into believing that the songwriting royalties from Clara's compositions would be minimal and accordingly sold them. In her book Willa said the music ended up under the control of Herman Lubinsky, founder of Savoy Records (who was known for his unscrupulous exploitation of recording artists), and became owned by Planemar Music Company.
Clara Ward was the first gospel singer to sing with a 100-piece symphony orchestra in the 1960s. They recorded an album together on the Verve label, V-5019, The Heart, The Faith, The Soul of Clara Ward, and the Ward Singers performed their music live in Philadelphia with the symphony and the Golden Voices Ensemble.
Though Clara Ward did not regularly sing secular music as a soloist or with her groups, she did sing backup for pop artists with her sister Willa's background group, most notably on Dee Dee Sharp's smash hit, 'Mashed Potato Time", which reached #1 on Billboard's pop chart in 1962. In 1969 she recorded an album for Capitol Records, Soul and Inspiration, which consisted of pop songs from Broadway plays, Hollywood movies and the Jimmy Radcliffe song of hope "If You Wanna Change The World". This album was later reissued on the Capitol's budget Pickwick label minus one song. In the same year she recorded an album in Copenhagen, Denmark on the Philips label, Walk A Mile In My Shoes, which included the pop title song, other pop songs (such as "California Dreaming") and a few gospel songs. She also recorded an album for MGM/Verve, Hang Your Tears Out To Dry, which included country and Western, blues/folk, pop and an arrangement of the Beatles' hit song, "Help". Her 1972 album Uplifting on United Artists, produced by Nikolas Venet and Sam Alexander, included her stunning interpretation of Bill Wither's pop hit "Lean On Me" and a rearrangement of the Soul Stirrer's 1950's recording of "Thank You, Jesus". Also in 1972 Ward, because she was under exclusive contract to United Artists at this time, provided vocals for a Canned Heat's album The New Age, on the ballad "Lookin' For My Rainbow"; it was released on that album and as a single 45 rpm record.
In 1968 Clara Ward and her singers toured Vietnam at the request of the U.S. State Department and the U.S.O. It was a very popular war-time tour supported by recorded radio broadcasts of the Ward Singers on U.S. Armed Forces Radio. The Ward Singers narrowly missed death when their hotel in Vietnam was bombed and several guests died. However, Clara was never afraid because she knew she was bringing some momentary joy, consolation, and a religious message to soldiers, many of whom would not return home alive, and they showed their appreciation and enthusiasm for her style of gospel music. When asked during a TV interview what was her favorite concert, Clara responded that these tours in Vietnam during the war were her favorite. She was invited back to Vietnam by U.S.O. in 1969 for several more months. These war-time tours were filmed and all the Ward Singers were given special certificates of recognition by the U.S. Army. The U.S.O did not pay a salary to entertainers, but after these tours the Ward Singers went to Japan each year for commercial concerts and released LPs in Japan to coincide with these tours.
Clara Ward co-starred in the Hollywood movie A Time to Sing, starring Hank Williams, Jr., Shelley Fabares, Ed Begley, and D'Urville Martin. She was cast as a waitress in a Nashville, Tennessee cafeteria who inspires a young singer, played by Hank Williams, Jr., to pursue his dream of becoming a Country & Western recording artist. There are also several scenes of the Clara Ward Singers performing gospel songs. This movie was released by MGM in 1968 and Clara's picture appears on lobby cards and other movie advertisements. Other movie appearances include Its Your Thing starring the Isley Brothers, and Spree, also known as Night Time in Las Vegas.
The late 1960s and early 1970s were an extremely busy and successful time for the Clara Ward Singers. The summer months usually found them at the Golden Horseshoe Club in Disneyland in Anaheim, California or touring colleges across the United States. They also toured in Australia, Japan, Europe, Indonesia, and Thailand. They had a one-day TV special in London, England. They were in demand on American TV shows constantly and appeared on The Mike Douglas Show over a dozen times. They appeared on Oral Roberts' Country Roads TV special and an album soundtrack was issued of this show. Clara still found time to sing at her mother's church, the Miracle Temple of Faith for All People in Los Angeles. and at Victory Baptist Church. Her mother, Gertrude Ward, also had a popular religious radio program in the Los Angeles market.
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I just received the newest release, It Wasn't Real, from Gina Sicilia. Sicilia has a rich voice and a smooth delivery. Opening with the title track, It Wasn't Real, Sicilia delivers a sultry pop jazz track with nice sax work backing by Jay Davidson. Next up is a track that I became familiar with through my love for James Brown. This has a totally different feel with a more laid back swing type groove. Davidson again steps up with a sweet solo. Walkin Along The Avenue has a distinct 40's sound and possibly the coolest track on the release. Dennis Gruenling plays some really complimentary harp on this track and Joel Bryant adds a nice B3 line. City By The Water is a strong radio play track with a real bluesy feel. Davidson again gets the chance to shine with a real solid sax solo. The release is wrapped with country influenced Walkin' Shoes. Overall this release will appeal to a more adult audience with strong pop melodic tendencies. It is very well done.
Jymie Merritt (born 3 May 1926) is an American jazz double-bassist.Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he has worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues. He has worked with Bull Moose Jackson, B. B. King, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach, among others.
He was an early adopter of the Ampeg bass (a hybrid acoustic-electric instrument) and founded Forerunner, a community organization in Philadelphia.
He is the father of a bassist Mike Merritt from Conan.
After playing with Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton's bands in the mid-'40s, sax player Johnny Sparrow formed his own band, Johnny Sparrow and His Bows and Arrows. The group was based in Philly in the early 1950s, and signed to Gotham Records in 1952.
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.
Critic John Bush wrote that Holiday "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues". She also became famous for singing "Easy Living", "Good Morning Heartache", and "Strange Fruit", a protest song which became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording. Music critic Robert Christgau called her "uncoverable, possibly the greatest singer of the century"
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane", he was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 2004, and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2007.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Cheltenham Township, a local suburb, Michael Brecker was exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. He grew up a part of the generation of jazz musicians, who saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option. Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. He graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1967 and after only a year at Indiana University, Michael Brecker moved to New York City in 1969, where he carved out a niche for himself as a dynamic and exciting jazz soloist. He first made his mark at age 21 as a member of the jazz-rock band Dreams—a band, that included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn. Dreams was short-lived, lasting only a year, but Miles Davis was seen at some gigs prior to his recording Jack Johnson.
Most of Brecker's early work is marked by an approach informed as much by rock guitar as by R&B saxophone. After Dreams, he worked with Horace Silver and then Billy Cobham before once again teaming up with his brother Randy to form the Brecker Brothers. The band followed jazz-rock trends of the time, but with more attention to structured arrangements, a heavier backbeat, and a stronger rock influence. The band stayed together from 1975 to 1982 with consistent success and musicality.
During his career, he was in great demand as a soloist and sideman. He performed with bands, which spanned from mainstream jazz to mainstream rock. Altogether, he appeared on over 700 albums, either as a band member or a guest soloist. He put his stamp on numerous pop and rock recordings as a soloist. His featured guest solos with James Taylor and Paul Simon are excellent examples from this body of work. For example, on James Taylor's 1972 album, One Man Dog, Brecker's solo on the track "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" complements the other acoustic instruments and sparse vocal. Also, on Paul Simon's 1975 album Still Crazy After All These Years, Brecker's solo on the title track is used to a similar effect. His solos are often placed in the bridge, or appended as a coda. This musical structure and instrumentation typifies (and somewhat defines) this jazz-rock fusion style. Other notable collaborations in this genre include work with Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Donald Fagen, Dire Straits, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Aerosmith, Dan Fogelberg, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament-Funkadelic.
Brecker also recorded or performed with leading jazz figures during his era, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Chet Baker, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Elvin Jones, Claus Ogerman, and many others.
During the early 1980s, he was also a member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live Band. Brecker can be seen in the background sporting shades during Eddie Murphy’s James Brown parody. After a stint co-leading the all-star group Steps Ahead with Mike Mainieri, Brecker finally recorded a solo album in 1987. That eponymously titled debut album marked his return to a more traditional jazz setting, highlighting his compositional talents and featuring the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), which Brecker had previously played with Steps Ahead. In 1987 he featured his new solo CD at the JVC Newport Jazz Festival, incorporating the EWI. Referring to the sound, that Brecker produced from the EWI, musician and opening act Ruben Riera (flautist, percussionist) (with The Gary Pearson Ensemble) said "it was amazing". He continued to record albums as a leader throughout the 1990s and 2000s, winning multiple Grammy Awards. His solo and group tours consistently sold out top jazz venues in major cities worldwide.
Michael Brecker in Munich (July 2001)
He went on tour in 2001 with a collaborative group, Hancock-Brecker-Hargrove. This tour was dedicated to jazz pioneers John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Brecker paid homage to Coltrane by performing Coltrane's signature piece, "Naima". This composition is a definitive work for tenor sax; its demanding solo enabled Brecker to show his complete mastery of the instrument. The live concert CD from the tour, Directions in Music (2001), won a Grammy in 2003.
While performing at the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in 2004, Brecker experienced a sharp pain in his back. Shortly thereafter in 2005, he was diagnosed with the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Despite a widely publicized worldwide search, Brecker was unable to find a matching stem cell donor. In late 2005, he was the recipient of an experimental partial matching stem cell transplant. By late 2006, he appeared to be recovering, but the experiment proved not to be a cure. He made his final public performance on June 23, 2006, playing with Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall.
On January 13, 2007, Michael Brecker died from complications of leukemia in New York City. His funeral was held on January 15, 2007 in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
On February 11, 2007, Michael Brecker was awarded two posthumous Grammy awards for his involvement on his brother Randy's 2005 album Some Skunk Funk.
On May 22, 2007, his final recording, Pilgrimage, was released receiving a good critical response. It was recorded in August 2006 with Pat Metheny on guitar, John Patitucci on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau on piano. Brecker was critically ill, when it was recorded but the other musicians involved praised the standard of his musicianship.[6] Brecker was again posthumously nominated and subsequently awarded two additional Grammy Awards for this album in the categories of Best Jazz Instrumental Solo and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, bringing his Grammy total to 15.
During his career, Brecker played a Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone using a customized Dave Guardala mouthpiece. Early in his career, he had played a Selmer Super Balanced Action saxophone. His earlier mouthpieces included a metal Dukoff (in the late 1970s and early 1980s) and a metal Otto Link (in the mid-1970s).
Donald "Duck" Bailey is an American jazz drummer.
He is probably best known as the drummer in the trio of jazz organist Jimmy Smith from 1956 to 1964 and also for his work with The Three Sounds on Blue Note Records. Bailey also worked as a sideman for some of the most famous musicians in jazz including Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Hampton Hawes, Sonny Rollins, and Red Mitchell. He also played with John Coltrane in their early Philadelphia years. Bailey is also known as "The King of Organ Trio Drummers". In 1978, Bailey released a harmonica album called "So In Love" (Trio Records) in Japan which received rave reviews. His latest project "Blueprints of Jazz Vol.3 featuring Donald Bailey" was issued on the Talking House record label in 2009. Bailey continues to perform around the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States
I just received a copy of the newest release, You Don't Know Nothing, by Frank Bey with the Anthony Paule Band. This release was recorded live in San Francisco and I have to say the people who saw this show got an ear full! Bey has a very solid soul style to his blues and this band is absolute killer! The recording opens with the title track, You Don't Know Nothing About Love which is a smokin' soul track. Bey is a great showman and Anthony Paule wastes no time in showing that he can really make his guitar sweat. Not only beautifully bluesy riffs but great filler riffs giving nice texture...and with great tone. Backed by a stellar band including Tony Lufrano on Keys, Paul Olguin on bass, Mike Rinta on Trombone, Paul Revelli on drums, Nancy Wright on Sax and Steffen Kuehn on trumpet. Yes, Bey is the star of this show and a mighty strong singer he is but take nothing at all from the great horn backing on this set. On Ain't That Lovin' You, Paule shows his jazz chops integrating style and technique for a really nice spotlight. On John Lennon's Imagine, Bey gives a somewhat "sacred cow" a very proper cover. Paule, Lufrano and Wright take an absolutely blistering solo interlude on this track making it particularly interesting. The band does a very clean cover of Town Without Pity led by Paule and before you start thinking, Montrose... no. This is done more in a Les Paul style with a lot of 50's feel. It is actually quite cool but then... Wright steps in with "the beef" on the sax and Paule plays counterpoint on the guitar making the entire track quite memorable. Again on Still Called The Blues, a funky Albert King like track, Wright really steps it up and if you love sax... and I mean down and nasty grab you by the short hairs sax..this is it! I also gotta say Rinta plays one of the hottest trombone solos I've heard on CD this year! Paule original, Can't get The Time Of Day, gives Paule a great chance to step out swing style and some nice swing articulated guitar he does. Paule also takes the vocal lead on this track and the horn section comes forward in the mix a bit but when they break loose, Wright is on the trigger again...Stilladog...you listening? This lady is really hot.... I mean don't get close to the brass! Paule rips some really nice riffs on this track as well even squeezing some chickin' pickin' in there! Real tasty! Bey takes on Ray Charles' Hard Times and although not Ray Charles, he does a really sweet job. Wright takes over where Bey leaves off and man can she carry the load. This is some of the most soulful sax on any blues CD to reach my desk in quite some time. This is a really hot set instrumentally as you can tell and Bey really sets the tempo. On You've Got To Hurt Before You Heal, Bey brings is back to solid soulville and give Wright and Paule each a chance to show their gold one last time. Although primarily a ballad track showcasing the strong vocal efforts of Bey, Lufrano really pulls the track together on organ and Wright and Paule each get one last chance to shine.
This was a show not to miss and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to listen to it today.
Billy Butler (December 15, 1925 – March 20, 1991) was an American soul jazz guitarist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He played with The Harlemaires, Tommy Flanagan, tenor saxophonist Floyd "Candy" Johnson, Houston Person, organist Harry "Doc" Bagby, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, David "Fathead" Newman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bill Doggett, King Curtis, Sammy Price, William (Wild Bill) Davison, Dinah Washington, Panama Francis, Johnny Hodges, Norris Turney, Al Casey, Jackie Williams and others.
He also co-wrote, with Bill Doggett, the 1956 R&B hit "Honky Tonk". He was with the Doggett band from 1954 to 1964 and recorded many albums with the organist.
Ray Benson (born March 16, 1951) is the front man of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.
Ray Benson performing in April 2009
In 1970, Benson, a Jewish native of Philadelphia, formed Asleep at the Wheel with friends Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston. The group relocated to Austin in 1973 after a suggestion from Willie Nelson .
Since then, the group has released more than 20 albums and earned 9 Grammy awards. Though the band's lineup has changed greatly over the years (about 90 people have been part of Asleep at the Wheel at some point), Benson has always remained at the helm as the band's driving force.
In addition to his work with Asleep at the Wheel, Benson is also an accomplished producer whose credits include albums by Dale Watson, Suzy Bogguss, Aaron Watson, James Hand and Carolyn Wonderland; also single tracks for Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Brad Paisley, Pam Tillis, Trace Adkins, Merle Haggard, and Vince Gill.
In 2003, Benson released his first solo album entitled Beyond Time.
Benson is also a founding member of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, which raises money to help aging R&B artists, and a member of the board of directors of the SIMS Foundation, which provides low-cost mental health services to Austin musicians and their families. He is also a trustee for the Texas chapter of NARAS, a board member of St Davids Community Health Foundation, Board member and founding member of Health alliance for Austin musicians (HAMM).
Benson is 6 feet, 7 inches tall with size 16 EEE feet.
Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist. She was most well known for working with her husband, Stanley Turrentine, and with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, both saxophonists. She was known as 'Queen of the Organ'.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Scott was an admirer of Jimmy Smith, and played piano and trumpet before moving to the Hammond organ, her main instrument, though on occasion she still played piano. In the 1950s she became known for her work (1956–1959) with the saxophone player Eddie Davis, particularly on the song "In the Kitchen". She was married to Stanley Turrentine and played with him from 1960 to 1969. Later, she led her own group, mostly a trio. Saxophonist Harold Vick often played with her.
In the 1980s, she became a jazz educator and became a highly known and respected member of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's jazz community.
Scott died of heart failure in 2002, which was hastened by the diet drug fen-phen. Scott won an $8 million settlement in February 2000 against American Home Products, the manufacturers of the drug cocktail
Charles Thomas Potter, born in Philadelphia on September 21, 1918, died March 1, 1988, was a jazz double bass player.
Potter is known for having been a member of Charlie Parker's "classic quintet", with Miles Davis, between 1947 and 1950; he had first played with Parker in 1944, in Billy Eckstine's band with Dizzy Gillespie, Lucky Thompson and Art Blakey.
Potter also performed and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including Earl Hines, Artie Shaw, Bud Powell, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Max Roach, Eddie Heywood, Tyree Glenn, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Buck Clayton and Charles Lloyd.
Bill Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his compositions "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan
William Ballard Doggett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] His mother, a church pianist, introduced him to music when he was nine years old. By the time he was fifteen, he had joined a Philadelphia area combo, playing local theaters and clubs while attending high school.
Doggett later sold his band to Lucky Millinder, and worked during the 1930s and early 1940s for both Millinder and arranger Jimmy Mundy. In 1942 he was hired as The Ink Spots' pianist and arranger.
Toward the end of 1947, he replaced Wild Bill Davis as the pianist for Louis Jordan's Tympany Five. It was in Jordan's group that he first achieved success playing the Hammond organ. In 1950 he is reputed to have written one of Jordan's biggest hits, "Saturday Night Fish Fry", for which Jordan claimed the writing credit.
In 1951, Doggett organized his own trio and began recording for King Records. His best known recording is "Honky Tonk", a rhythm and blues hit of 1956 which sold four million copies (reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 2 Pop), and which he co-wrote with Billy Butler. The track topped the US Billboard R&B chart for over two months. He won the Cash Box award for best rhythm and blues performer in 1957, 1958, and 1959. He also arranged for many bandleaders and performers, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lionel Hampton.
As a jazz player Doggett started in swing music and later played soul jazz. His bands included saxophonists Red Holloway, Clifford Scott, Percy France, David "Bubba" Brooks, Clifford Davis, and Floyd "Candy" Johnson; guitarists Floyd Smith, Billy Butler, Sam Lackey and Pete Mayes; and singers Edwin Starr, Toni Williams and Betty Saint-Clair. His biggest hits, "Honky Tonk" (the Part 2 side of the record) and "Slow Walk" featured saxophonist Clifford Scott.
He continued to play and arrange until he died, aged 80, of a heart attack in New York
