Bill Doggett


William Ballard Doggett 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.

Biography

Doggett was born in Philadelphia. During the 1930s and early 1940s he worked for Lucky Millinder, Frank Fairfax and arranger Jimmy Mundy. In 1942 he was hired as the Ink Spots' pianist and arranger.
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, and which he co-wrote with Billy Butler. The track topped the US Billboard R&B chart for over two months. He also arranged for many bandleaders and performers, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lionel Hampton.
He continued to play and arrange until he died, aged 80, of a heart attack in New York City.

Discography

Singles

7" EPs (all on King">King Records (United States)">King)

;With Ella Fitzgerald
;With Coleman Hawkins
;With Helen Humes
;With Willis Jackson
;With Illinois Jacquet
;With Louis Jordan
;With Lucky Millinder
;With Paul Quinichette
;With Buddy Tate
;With Lucky Thompson