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Baby Dodds

Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era. He varied his drum patterns with accents and flourishes, and he generally kept the beat with the bass drum while playing buzz rolls on the snare. Early influences included Louis Cottrell, Sr., Dave Perkins, and Tubby Hall. Dodds was among the first drummers to be recorded improvising while performing.

Birth and Death Data: Born New Orleans (largest city of the state of Louisiana, United States), Died February 14, 1959 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, washboard, traps

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 79 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-38627 10-in. 6/4/1927 Hyena stomp Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with laughing instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38628 10-in. 6/4/1927 Billy goat stomp Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with goat imitations instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38629 10-in. 6/4/1927 Wild man blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38630 10-in. 6/4/1927 Jungle blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38661 10-in. 6/10/1927 Beale Street blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38662 10-in. 6/10/1927 The pearls Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-38663 10-in. 6/10/1927 Wolverine blues Jelly Roll Morton Jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, traps  
Victor BVE-38664 10-in. 6/10/1927 Mr. Jelly Lord Jelly Roll Morton Jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, traps  
Victor BVE-46063 10-in. 7/6/1928 Bucktown stomp Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, washboard  
Victor BVE-46064 10-in. 7/6/1928 Weary city Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, washboard  
Victor BVE-46065 10-in. 7/6/1928 Bull fiddle blues Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, washboard  
Victor BVE-46066 10-in. 7/6/1928 Blue washboard stomp Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, washboard  
Victor BVE-48797 10-in. 1/16/1929 Pencil papa Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-48798 10-in. 1/16/1929 Heah' me talkin' Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-48799 10-in. 1/16/1929 Goober dance Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-48800 10-in. 1/16/1929 Too tight Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-48841 10-in. 1/30/1929 Sweet Lorraine Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BVE-48842 10-in. 1/30/1929 My little Isabel Johnny Dodds’ Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BS-053431 10-in. 9/6/1940 Blues in thirds New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance trio instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BS-053432 10-in. 9/6/1940 Blues for you, Johnny Sidney Bechet ; Herb Jeffries ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet with male vocal solo (take 2: no vocal) instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BS-053433 10-in. 9/6/1940 Ain't misbehavin' Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BS-053434 10-in. 9/6/1940 Save it, pretty mama Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet instrumentalist, drums  
Victor BS-053435 10-in. 9/6/1940 Stompy Jones Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet instrumentalist, drums  
Victor D5VB-0996 10-in. 12/19/1945 When the saints go marching in Bunk Johnson and his New Orleans Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, drums  
Victor D5VB-0997 10-in. 12/19/1945 High society Bunk Johnson and his New Orleans Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, drums  
(Results 1-25 of 79 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dodds, Baby," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103281.

Dodds, Baby. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103281.

"Dodds, Baby." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103281

External Sources

Wikipedia: Warren “Baby” Dodds

Discogs: Baby Dodds

Allmusic: Baby Dodds

Grove: Baby Dodds

IMDb: Baby Dodds

Britannica: Baby Dodds

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Dodds, Baby, 1898-1959 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81097885

Wikidata: Warren “Baby” Dodds - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q374629

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/57417578

MusicBrainz: Warren “Baby” Dodds - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5fae9c18-a94f-424e-99e0-2b4cc7be991e

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/78317 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/78317

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