William Ballard Doggett, who went by the name Bill Doggett, was a prominent jazz & R&B pianist, organ player and arranger who released many albums and worked with major artists from his debut in 1954 until his death, aged 80, following a heart attack in 1996. Born in Philadelphia, he learned to play keyboards as a child and performed locally until 1942 when he became arranger and accompanist with the Ink Spots. He spent time with Louis Jordan's Tympany Five and formed his own trio.
He released many EPs from 1954 to 1959 plus albums such as 'Moon Dust King' (1956), 'Everybody Dance the Honky Tonk' (1956), 'Dance Awhile' (1958), 'The Many Moods of Bill Doggett' (1962), 'The Best of Bill Doggett' (1964), 'Take Your Shot' (1969), 'Honky Tonk Popcorn' (1970), 'Mister Honky Tonk' (1980) and 'The Right Choice After Hours' (1991). His two-part single 'Honky Tonk' went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1956 and was the best-selling R&B track of the year. It was later recorded by many other artists and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
His 1958 single 'Hold It' went to number three on Billboard's R&B Songs chart, 'Rainbow Riot (Part 1)' (1959) reached number 15, 'Monster Party' (1959) peaked at number 27 and 'Yocky Dock (Part 1)' (1959) hit number 30. A 25-track compilation titled 'The Very Best of Bill Doggett Honky Tonk' came out in 2004. In its obituary, the New York Times described him as "an organist with a raucous, swinging style rife with the blues" and said his recordings were "classic rhythm-and-blues miniatures that were completely fused to the blues culture of the time, jukebox favorites that had a driving blues core".
