Dame Dreaming With Bill Doggett (King LP 532)

Side 1:
01) Sweet Lorraine
02) Diane
03) Dinah
04) Ramona
05) Cherry
06) Cynthia

Side 2:
01) Jeannie
02) Tangerine
03) Nancy
04) Estrellita
05) Laura
06) Marcheta

Dame Dreaming With Bill Doggett (Mega)

Dame Dreaming With Bill Doggett (Zippy)

Originally issued in April 1957. All tracks with the exception of "Sweet Lorraine" were recorded over two days in December 1956 for this LP. The 12th track from that '56 session was the uproarious "Ram-Bunk-Shush" which was hardly a good fit for an album which some might call "dreamy" others "romantic" and yet others "kitsch." Even if you do find the accumulation of slow tracks a bit too sickly sweet, there are still good moments featuring Clifford Scott and Billy Butler.

This is a "reconstruction" using artwork from the internet and adapted artwork from the CD issue of this album. Download for your listening and dancing (slow) pleasure!

Fax on The Trax

Sweet Lorraine - recorded in Cincinnati, December 15th, 1953. Personnel - Percy France (tenor sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Jerry Lane (guitar); Clarence Mack (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums)

Single release:

Sweet Lorraine / Tailor Made - King 4720 - June 1954

Laura; Diane; Cynthia; Nancy; Marcheta - recorded in Cincinnati, December 20th, 1956. Personnel - Clifford Scott (alto sax, tenor sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Edwyn Conley (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums)

Ramona; Tangerine; Dinah; Cherry; Estrellita; Jeannine - recorded in Cincinnati, December 21st, 1956. Personnel as above.

The above 11 tracks were first issued on this LP. The 12 tracks on this LP were also released on 3 EPs - Dame Dreaming With Bill Doggett Volumes 1,2, and 3.

Dance Awhile With Doggett (King LP 585)

Side 1:

01) Flying Home

02) Misty Moon

03) Bone Tones

04) Tailor Made

05) Chelsea Bridge

06) The Kid from Franklin Street

Side 2:
01) Pied Piper of Islip

02) Passion Flower

03) The Song Is Ended

04) Autumn Dreams

05) How Could You?

06) Smoochie

Dance Awhile With Doggett (Mega)

Dance Awhile With Doggett (Zippy)

A "reconstruction" of King LP 585 using artwork from the internet and rips from my own collection. This LP was originally released in May 1958.

Once more we're raking through the bargain browser filled with King LPs and here's the "Honky Tonk" man himself, Bill Doggett. Three of the tracks are by the early 1950s combo lineup with Percy France on tenor sax while the rest date from 1957 and 1958 and feature the "classic" lineup with Clifford Scott on tenor sax and Billy Butler on guitar.

This LP feels more like a jazz album than an out and out R&B collection, so I'm not sure how much dancing it inspired. It certainly wouldn' have attracted the rock and roll crowd, that's for sure, but the jazzy vibe would probably have appealed to the adult listener. Clifford Scott swaps his axe for a flute on some tracks and there's space for Billy Butler to showcase his guitar skills. It's a collection that grows on you, as I have found over the years.

Track Info

Tailor Made; The Song Is Ended - recorded Cincinnati, December 15th, 1953. Personnel - Percy France (tenor sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Jerry Lane (guitar); Clarence Mack (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums).

Single releases:

It's A Dream / The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On) - King 4702 - March 1954

Sweet Lorraine / Tailor Made - King 4720 - June 1954

Misty Moon - recorded Cincinnati, August 23rd, 1955. Personnel - Percy France (tenor sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Edwyn Conley (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums).

Single release:

Honey Boy / Misty Moon - King 4838 - October 1955

Flying Home; Smoochie - recorded New York, October 7th, 1957. Personnel - Clifford Scott (tenor sax, flute); Thomas "Beans" Bowles (baritone sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Carl Pruitt (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums).

Single releases:

Flying Home / Hippy Dippy - King 5096 - January 1958

Smoochie / Big Boy - King 5339 - April 1960

How Could You; Pied Piper Of Islip; The Kid From Franklin Street - recorded Cincinnati, February 26th - 28th 1958. Personnel - Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton (trombone); Clifford Scott (tenor sax, flute); Thomas "Beans" Bowles (baritone sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Edwin Conley (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums).

Single releases:

Blues For Handy / How Could You - King 5130 - April 1958

Pied Piper From Islip; The Kid From Franklin Street - both first issued on this LP.

Autumn Leaves; Chelsea Bridge; Passion Flower; Bone Tones - recorded Cincinnati, March 4th 1958. Personnel - Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton (trombone); Clifford Scott (tenor sax, flute); Thomas "Beans" Bowles (baritone sax); Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Edwin Conley (bass); Shep Shepherd (drums).

These tracks first released on this LP.

Mo' King LPs on the way!
 

The Bill Jennings - Leo Parker Quintet - Billy In The Lion's Den (King LP 395-527)

Side 1:
01) Picadilly Circus
02) May I
03) Billy In The Lion's Den
04) Sweet And Lovely
05) There Will Never Be Another You
06) Stuffy

Side 2:
01) Just You, Just Me
02) Down To Earth
03) What'll I Do
04) Fine And Dandy
05) Get Hot
06) Solitude

Billy In The Lion's Den (Mega)

Billy In The Lion's Den (Zippy)

Many thanks to The Magnificent Goldberg for donating this LP. Rips (m4a, variable bit rate, approx 260 - 270 kbps) are from the 1980s vinyl reissue on the European Swingtime label. Cover art is from the web. The King LP "Billy In The Lions Den" was originally issued in March 1957 and was in fact an extended 12" version of a 10" LP issued in 1955 under the title "Jazz Interludes."

There were contrasting fortunes for the two principals on this LP. Both had a heroin habit, but for bebop baritone sax man Leo Parker it was a career stopper while guitarist Bill Jennings kept on recording through the 1950s and on into the 1960s. Parker followed up this July 1954 session with one more alongside his old cohort Illinois Jacquet for Clef in December '54 and that was the end of his recording career until 1961 when he had a tragically brief comeback for Blue Note which was cut short by a fatal heart attack.

There is a more detailed rundown of Leo Parker's career on this post which includes lotsa links into more of his work featured on this blog:

Back To Back Baritones

Bill Jennings was a very busy musician indeed during the 1950s. He was with Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five from 1948 until the end of 1951. In the early 50s he also recorded for Gotham with a few singles issued under his own name plus a session as a sideman with Jimmy Preston. In 1951 he joined fellow ex-Tympany Five member organist Wild Bill Davis along with drummer Chris Columbus to form the kind of organ / guitar / drums trio which would become popular in the later '50s and early '60s. The Wild Bill Davis Trio recorded for Columbia / Okeh through to 1953.

In December 1952 Bill Jennings recorded his first session for King as a sideman with Roy Brown. Bill was on another Roy Brown session in June 1953. Just over a year later came the sides on this LP with Leo Parker, followed by Bill Jennings Quartet sides which were released on single, EP and LP by King. "Big Boy" on which Bill was backed by the Bill Doggett combo was a substantial R&B hit in 1955. In December 1955 Bill recorded an album "Mood Indigo" on which his guitar was accompanied only by vibes.

The Fabulous Guitar of Bill Jennings (King LP 295-106) 10" LP released 1955

Mood Indigo (King LP 395-508) 12" LP released 1956

From the end of 1955 through to 1958 Bill Jennings was occupied with session work for King. Earl (Connelly) King, Nita Lore, Little Willie John (3 sessions, including "Fever"), Etta Jones, Titus Turner (2 sessions) and Bubber Johnson all benefited from Bill's jazzy guitar playing. In 1957/8 Bill played alongside tenor sax man Willis Jackson on Little Willie John and Titus Turner sessions. In September 1957 Willis and Bill recorded a few sides for King accompanied by organ (James Orville Johnson) and drums (Alvin Johnson). The sax / guitar / organ /drums combo was very much the coming sound of soul jazz, a sound which would be popularized not at King, but at Prestige, especially when the Jackson / Jennings pairing was joined by Jack McDuff on organ.

From May 1959 the Jackson / Jennings / McDuff lineup (and variants thereof) began to record a series of LPs which stretched on through the 1960s. The Prestige albums were superior in their presentation when compared to the King LPs. The same could be said of another King sax / organ combo which crossed from King to Prestige, the Lockjaw Davis / Shirley Scott group. Production was superior (often by Rudy Van Gelder), sleeve design and sleeve notes were carefully prepared, and in the wax grooves the musicians were given time to stretch out as track lengths exceeded the normal running time of singles.

Prestige didn't neglect fans of singles or the juke box crowd as cut down versions of LP tracks were issued on 45. Unlike King, Prestige seemed to appreciate the potential of both the LP and the 45 rpm single in jazz, as did Blue Note. It's noticeable that on "Billy In The Lions Den" none of the track running times exceed those of a 45 rpm single, despite the fact that almost all the tracks never saw single release.

Willis, Bill and Jack on Prestige, 1959

Enough Said! (Prestige 7164) recorded with Jack McDuff, released 1959

Also released in 1959

More Fax On The Trax, Jack!

All tracks recorded in Cincinatti on 6th, 7th, 8th July 1954. Personnel: Leo Parker (baritone sax); Andrew Johnson (piano, organ); Bill Jennings (guitar); Joe Williams (bass); George De Hart (drums)

Leo Parker not on "Sweet And Lovely," which was the only track on the LP to be released on a single - They Can't Take That Away From Me / Sweet And Lovely - Bill Jennings Quartet - King 4805 - released in June 1955.

This collection first appeared in the form of a 10 inch, 8 track LP in 1955 - "Jazz Interludes."

The 12 inch, 12 track version, "Billy In The Lions Den" was issued in March 1957:

Billboard 2nd March 1957

Rock'n Roll Dance Party (King LP 536)

Side 1:
01) Fever - Little Willie John
02) Flamingo - Earl Bostic
03) Seventeen - Boyd Bennett & His Rockets
04) Boogie At Midnight - Roy Brown
05) Cherry Wine - Little Esther
06) Have Mercy Baby - Billy Ward & His Dominoes

Side 2:
01) Soft - Tiny Bradshaw
02) Gumdrop - Otis Williams & His Charms
03) You Ain't Treatin' Me Right - Mac Curtis
04) Sexy Ways - The Midnighters
05) Good Rockin' Tonight - Wynonie Harris
06) The Goof - Big Jay McNeely

Rock'n Roll Dance Party (King LP 536) Mega

Rock'n Roll Dance Party (King LP 536) Zippy

Thanks again to Marv for this reconstituted King LP which was originally issued in 1957. This is one of umpteen LPs issued at that time with the title "Rock'n Roll Dance Party" as record labels scrambled to extract a little more profit from the rock and roll craze. Most of the tracks are old R&B hits, so I guess this falls into one of my favourite sub categories of rock and roll - exploitation!

Of course the tracks by Boyd Bennett (band rock and roll) and Mac Curtis (rockabilly) fall outwith the R&B field, so kind of justify the album title. However, let's not get too hung up on categories and dates, because this is another good listen, just like the previous post! Although I already had all of these tracks somewhere in my collection I enjoyed listening to this album, and as I always say, it's interesting to hear familiar tracks in a new context. Download and play at your next rock'n' roll bash. Thanks Marv. And thanks also to the original uploaders of the artwork, several versions of which are included.

Apologies for the delay in posting but sinusitis has kept me from the keyboard. However here we are again going through the virtual King LP bargain browser and the next couple of posts will also be from King, although on the jazz side. Stay tuned, groovers.