Early rock 'n' roll organist Bill Doggett, who in 1956 cut one of the biggest-selling instrumentals of all time, "Honky Tonk (Parts 1 and 2)," has died at age 80 of cancer.
Doggett, who was born in Philadelphia in 1916, worked with Louis Jordan and Ella Fitzgerald before striking out on his own. He signed with King Records in Cincinnati around 1953, churning out a series of hot groove-style instrumentals with Clifford Scott (tenor sax) and Billy Butler (guitar).Doggett was 40 years old when "Honky Tonk" took off. The number was a basic rock 'n' roll progression featuring a series of solos, including influential fretwork from Butler that has been lauded by session ace Cornell Dupree.
The single spent three weeks at No. 2 in the pop charts and has sold some 3 million copies. Doggett followed up with two other top-40 hits, "Slow Walk" and "Soft."
- Fred Shuster