As blues and R&B lovers, all of us are aware of certain instrumentals that have held up very well over time.  Go way back in the day to the eerie, spooky slide guitar brilliance of Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night (Cold Was The Ground),” to the dynamism of Big Jay McNeely’s “Deacon’s Hop,” to the post-war magnificence of Little Walter’s “Juke,” to the swinging Texas blues classic “Okie Dokie Stomp” by Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, to the west coast magic of “Blues After Hours” by Pee Wee Crayton to Freddie King’s definitive “Hide Away,” to Syl Austin’s honking “Dogwood Junction,” to Sam “The Man” Taylor’s  incredible “Harlem Nocturne,” there’s innumerable instrumentals that are immediately identifiable for both their unique sounds and the artists who navigated them to their lofty ranks.

“Slow Walk,” “Ram-Bunk-Shush,” “Hold It,” “Rainbow Riot,” “After Hours,” “Leaps And Bounds,” and “Blip Blop.”  Now, the learned blues and R&B enthusiast may be easily able to identify the artist associated with these fantastic cuts.  Most casual blues and R&B fans, however, probably not.  But, when mentioning “Hony Tonk (Part 1)” and “(Honky Tonk Part 2),” I am confident that those with more than just a passing interest in blues and R&B would know from the get-go that the man behind these ageless tunes from 1956 was keyboard great and bandleader supreme Bill Doggett.

So, there “Honky Tonk (Part 1)” and “Honky Tonk (Part 2)” were staring at me the other day when I pulled the superb compilation Bill Doggett And His Combo – All His Hits (King Records KCD-5009) from my collection.  Immediately I was drawn into that exciting meld of R&B, blues, rock-n-roll, swing, and jazz that defined the songs.  “Honky Tonk (Part 1)” and “Honky Tonk (Part 2)” had yet again grabbed me and would not let me go.

“Honky Tonk (Part 1)” and “Honky Tonk (Part 2)” were together one of the biggest instrumental juggernauts of all-time, and 1956 saw the two-part classic rising to a number two position on the Top 40 chart, remaining so for an amazing 22 weeks.  Astonishingly, the songs were to be one of the major musical hits of the entire year.

Anyone familiar with Doggett’s “Honky Tonk” work will most likely be familiar with “Honky Tonk (Part 2),” as it is the side that gained the most notoriety.  There’s nothing deeply sophisticated about its structure; no, it’s a very common three-chord shuffle framework with a beat, and even phrasing, not unlike much of what else was going on musically at the time.

However, and this is a big “however,” what set the cut apart from its competition was Clifford Scott’s blazing, wailing, and very dirty and greasy sounding saxophone, one that sets the tone for the tune with its uniquely irregular, unpredictable, and herky-jerky scaffolding.  There exists an air of dangerousness in the overall sound, akin to even, dare I say, a melody one my hear at an exotic dancing event.  It screamed “salaciousness.”  The song is at once both slowly strolling and conversely mightily throbbing. 

That groove!  Enthralling and pressing.  And everyone gets in on the act, as throughout the musical journey, if one listens closely, enthusiastic encouragements shouted from the band can be heard.  And yet, after Scott’s saxophone clinic ends, up jumps Doggett’s broad organ proficiencies, leading to a brief guitar run, with the whole of the ensemble ending the foray with a brash, colliding finale. 

While Scott’s saxophone is certainly key to the success of the “Honky Tonk” outings, Bill Doggett’s life and career have not seemed to have been as analyzed as they should’ve been.  Now seems the ideal time to provide a brief overview, with the man’s catalogue of music fresh in my mind.  

He came into the world in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in mid-February, 1916 as William Ballard Doggett.  By all accounts, growing up on Philadelphia’s north side was a tough existence for Doggett, as he was impacted by his family’s destitution.  It is said that Doggett originally fancied the trumpet as his instrument-of-choice, but with the meager resources of his family, both the cost of the instrument and any required lessons made that selection unworkable.

Doggett’s mother, however, was the piano player in the family’s church, so access to the instrument led to his determined yearning to master the keyboard.  By all accounts, Doggett’s drive led him to be labeled something of a musical wizard by the age of 13, and only a scant two years later he was to be found leading The Five Majors, the first of his musical groups.

Doggett continued to do all that he could to further his burgeoning musical interests and career, and while still in his high school years he could be found plying his keyboard attributes in a theater pit band named the Jimmy Gorman Band, a group that he would continue to work with until when in 1938, at the age of 22, Doggett took over as the bandleader.

However, Doggett did not front the band for a long period, as he transferred ownership of the band to Lucky Millinder (a man who would go on to broad renown for his big band assemblages), though he continued to work with the group for four additional years.  In fact, Doggett was able to realize yet another stepping stone in his development as a professional musician by being able to record with Millinder and company on a couple of tracks in 1939.

Doggett stayed with Millinder until later in 1939 when he chose to begin a band with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Mundy, a man who had been the arranger for the famous clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman.  However, that group did not have long legs.

So, it was back to working a sideman’s role for Doggett.  He did sign-on as the pianist and arranger for the highly successful vocal group The Ink Spots, working with them during the 1942-1944 period.  It was in 1944 that Doggett left The Ink Spots and focused on his arranging work, providing his skills to various big names of the day across varied musical genres including R&B shouter Wynonie Harris, big band legend Count Basie, west coast musical do-it-all Johnny Otis, jazz tenor saxophone great Coleman Hawkins, scat and jazz vocal giant Ella Fitzgerald, and jazz vibraphone titan Lionel Hampton.

By 1947, Doggett had moved to yet another opportunity, this time within the band of R&B great Louis Jordan (Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five), replacing Hammond B-3 great Willd Bill Davis.  Doggett recorded with Jordan and his crew on two of their most famous sides, “Blue Light Boogie” and “Saturday Night Fish Fry,” released by Decca as #27114 in 1950 and #24725 in 1949, respectively.  Doggett played piano on these cuts.

However, the organ greatness that Doggett was eventually feted for did not enjoy its recording introduction until he laid down music with the aforementioned Fitzgerald in mid-June, 1951 recording sessions.

Now with his organ playing and recording feet underneath him, Doggett assembled and presented his new combo at a New York City nightspot in mid-June, 1952.  When King Records came calling, as is said, that’s all she wrote!  Within four years, Hony Tonk (Part 1)” and “Honky Tonk (Part 2)” made their debuts, and Doggett never looked back.  It may have taken a dozen or so singles to finally realize the success of the two-headed “Honky Tonk” sides, but once his musical rocket lifted off, Doggett enjoyed a protracted career.

Doggett continued to play, record and arrange his delicious mixture of blues, R&B, rock-n-roll, swing, and jazz right up until the end of his life.  Doggett passed away at the age of 80 in New York City, with his broad panorama of musical influence a legacy that lives on to this day.

The next time you hear “Honky Tonk (Part 1)” and/or “Honky Tonk (Part 2),” perhaps listen a little closer to capture a bit more of the playing and arranging genius of Bill Doggett.

Bill Doggett’s music is offered to blues fans via the magnificent collections indicated below. 

• Bill Doggett And His Combo – All His Hits (King Records KCD-5009)
• Bill Doggett – 28 Big Ones (King Records 28CD-4106)