Bill Doggett
William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", Doggett was a pioneer of rock and roll. He worked with the Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Philadelphia (largest city in Pennsylvania, United States), Died November 13, 1996 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1941 - 1960
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, organ, arranger, leader, composer, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 125 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | CO47137 | 10-in. | 10/31/1951 | Give me liberty or give me love | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | CO47138 | 10-in. | 10/31/1951 | Happy days | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | CO47139 | 10-in. | 10/31/1951 | Lonesome for my baby | Carmen Mendez ; Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | CO47140 | 10-in. | 10/31/1951 | All alone and lonely | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, piano | |
| Excelsior | JR-141-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | My baby's business | Johnny Otis ; Jimmy Rushing | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | JO-141-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Preston Love's mansion | Johnny Otis | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | JO-142-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Harlem nocturne | Leon Beck ; René Block ; Teddy Buckner ; Bernie Cobbs ; Lorenzo Cocker ; Curtis Counce ; Bill Doggett ; Johnny Otis Band ; Billy Jones ; Harry "Parr" Jones ; Jap Jones ; Paul Quinichette ; Eli Robinson ; James Von Streeter ; Loyal Walker | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | JR-142-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Jimmy's 'round the clock blues | Johnny Otis ; Jimmy Rushing | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | JR-142-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Harlem nocturne | Johnny Otis | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | OR-145-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | No-good man blues | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | OR-145-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Why not | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Irresistable you | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Phace | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Excelsior | OR-152-A | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Omaha flash | Leon Beck ; Bernie Cobbs ; Curtis Counce ; Lester Currant ; Allen Durham ; E. Gilvaux ; Bob Harris ; Billy Jones ; Jap Jones ; John Pettigrew ; Kent Pope ; Eddie Preston ; Paul Quinichette ; James Von Streeter ; Loyal Walker ; George Washington | songwriter | ||
| Excelsior | OR-518-A | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Love's nocturne | Johnny Otis Band ; Preston Love | composer | ||
| Roost | 1121 | 10-in. | approximately 1950 | Please don't talk about me when I'm gone | Eddie Davis ; Bill Doggett | instrumentalist, organ | ||
| Roost | 1123 | 10-in. | approximately 1950 | Blues in my heart | Eddie Davis ; Bill Doggett | instrumentalist, organ | ||
| Mercury | 4911 | 10-in. | March, 1952 | Be anything (but be mine) | Wini Brown and her Boyfriends | instrumentalist, organ | ||
| Mercury | 4912 | 10-in. | March, 1952 | Heaven knows why | Wini Brown and her Boyfriends | instrumentalist, organ | ||
| Decca | 69437 | 10-in. | 6/27/1941 | Trouble in mind | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Decca | 69438 | 10-in. | 6/27/1941 | Slide, Mr. Trombone | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Decca | 69439 | 10-in. | 6/27/1941 | Ride, Red, ride | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Decca | 69440 | 10-in. | 6/27/1941 | Rock, Daniel-1 | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Decca | 69441 | 10-in. | 6/27/1941 | That's all | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | ||
| Decca | 69706 | 10-in. | 9/5/1941 | Big fat Mama | Lucky Millinder Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Doggett, Bill," accessed January 20, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106060.
Doggett, Bill. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106060.
"Doggett, Bill." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 20 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bill Doggett
Discogs: Bill Doggett
Allmusic: Bill Doggett
Grove: Bill Doggett
Britannica: Bill Doggett
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Doggett, Bill, 1916-1996 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88681625
Wikidata: Bill Doggett - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q326810
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/27251583
MusicBrainz: Bill Doggett - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b6d381bb-3642-455c-ab73-125ba1259b71
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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