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Wild Bill Davison

William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they played the music of Louis Armstrong, but he did not achieve wider recognition until the 1940s. He is best remembered for his association with bandleader Eddie Condon, with whom he worked and recorded from the mid-1940s until Condon's last concert at the New School for Social Research in New York in April 1972 (Chiaroscuro Records, CRD 110).

His nickname of "Wild Bill" reflected a reputation for heavy drinking and womanizing in his younger years.

Birth and Death Data: Born Defiance (city in and the county seat of Defiance County, Ohio, United States), Died November 14, 1989 (Santa Barbara (city in and county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: cornet, trumpet

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-44 of 44 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 73311 1/25/1946 I wish I had never met sunshine Denver Darling ; Wild Bill Davison ; The Range Rider Singers instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 73480 3/27/1946 Farewell blues Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, trumpet  
Decca 73481 3/27/1946 Improvisation for march of time Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, trumpet  
Decca 73482 3/27/1946 She's funny that way-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, trumpet  
Decca 74030 8/6/1947 Aunt Hagar's blues Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 74031 8/6/1947 Down among the sheltering palms Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 74032 8/6/1947 Rose of the Rio Grande Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 74033 8/6/1947 Ida, sweet as apple cider Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 75988 3/20/1950 Maple leaf rag-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 75989 3/20/1950 Dill pickles-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 75990 3/20/1950 Sweet cider time, when you were mine Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 75991 3/20/1950 At the Jazz Band Ball Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76000 3/22/1950 At the Jazz Band Ball Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76001 3/22/1950 Jazz me blues Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76002 3/22/1950 Everybody loves my baby Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76473 6/9/1950 Black bottom Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76474 6/9/1950 Original Charleston Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76475 6/9/1950 Yellow dog blues Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
Decca 76476 6/9/1950 Ragging the scales Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, cornet  
(Results 26-44 of 44 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Davison, Wild Bill," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102402.

Davison, Wild Bill. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102402.

"Davison, Wild Bill." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102402

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