Search - Bill Doggett :: 28 Big Ones

One difference between a jazz and a rock instrumentalist...

R. L. MILLER | FT LAUDERDALE FL USA | 08/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...is that the rock player, if he's the group leader, gets more than half of the solos. I mean, he IS the controlling stockholder, right? It's perhaps symptomatic of the basic inferiority complex in rock and roll ("people try t'put us down, just because we g-g-g-gather round"). That sort of whiny ego-trippping is a bit less dominant among jazz men, though--and Bill Doggett didn't do that even when he was still considered a rock player. Take "Honky Tonk", for example--more than five minutes on the hoof--but organist Doggett gave his guitarist and sax player just about all the solos, cheerfully serving as their sideman. The basic hook itself was on guitar. No matter--even then we knew who the leader was. During my teens, bands I was in did the song only with guitars. Such was the power of that song--you know you've made a mark when people who don't play your instrument still want to do it. It's only in recent years that I've come to realize that Doggett was always a jazz player."

Bill is Fabulous

Patricia D Daniels | Stockton, CA United States | 08/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just received my copy of 28 Big ones and am playing it on my computer right now. For all you jazz lovers out there this is the best you can get. There was then, is now, and never will be another organist as wonderful as Bill. If Tara's Theme and Fools Rush in don't stir up your insides then you must be dead. I love this CD. Thank you Amazon. Patricia Daniels, Stockton, CA"

Almost All Of His Hit Singles Here

Patricia D Daniels | 05/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The would-be big band leader (he once formed his own in 1938 when he was 22) finally found his niche when he opted to concentrate on small combos and zero in on the R&B genre and it's offspring - Rock & Roll. Before that this accomplished pianist/organist worked with The Jimmy Mundy Band in 1939, then did stints with The Ink Spots, Illinous Jacquet, Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and a host of others too numerous to mention here.



The first time his name appeared as part of the featured billing on a single record hit was in 1945 when Be-Baba-Leba rose to # 3 on what then passed for the R&B charts, billed to Helen Humes with Bill Doggett Octet. Recorded for the small Philo label that, unfortunately, is not included here. In 1952 he formed Bill Doggett & His Combo, but didn't have another charted hit single until the late summer of 1956. But what a hit.



Honky Tonk (Parts 1 and 2) on King 4950, featuring the growling sax of Clifford Scott and the guitar work of Billy Butler and, of course, Bill on the organ, it rose to # 1 R&B and remained there for 13 weeks, spending a total of 28 weeks in all on those charts. It also climbed to # 2 on the Billboard Pop Top 100, where it remained for 29 weeks, including two at # 2. The only thing that kept it from # 1 was another two-sided hit you might recall named Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel by some guy named Elvis. For my money there is no better R&R instrumental. Ever.



Both sides are featured in this volume, as are all his follow-up hit singles for King Records, beginning with Slow Walk (# 4 R&B/# 26 T100 in late 1956 on King 5000), Ram-Bunk-Shush (# 10 R&B/# 67 Top 100 in March 1957 on King 5020), Soft (# 35 T100 in November 1957 on King 5080), Leaps And Bounds Part 1 (# 13 R&B in March 1958 on King 5101), Blip Blop (# 82 T100 in August 1958 on King 5138), Hold It (# 3 R&B/# 92 T100 in November 1958 on King 5149), Rainbow Riot Part 1 (# 15 R&B in January 1959 on King 5159), Monster Party (# 27 R&B in March 1959 on King 5176), Yockey Dock Part 1 (# 30 R&B in November 1959 on King 5256(, and Smokie Part 2 (# 95 T100 in January 1960 on King 5310).



Late in 1960 he had a # 66 T100 with (Let's Do) The Hully Gully Twist, but that appeared on the Warner label, so it too is omitted here. In 1961 King re-released Honky Tonk Part 2 as an A-side and this time it reached # 57 T100 in February.



So, with those two exceptions, this is as complete a compilation of Bill Doggett's hits as you are ever going to see, and the sound quality is excellent. If there is any criticism it is the complete lack of liner notes with the insert, although there is one brief paragraph on the back, but no chart details or label numbers for the 28 tracks (it would have been nice to know which of the non-hits were also released as singles)."