Bill Doggett - Wow! (1964)

As Bob Porter says in his notes for this reissue, Bill Doggett was "a pianist, an organist, a composer, an arranger, a conductor, a sideman, a bandleader, a studio musician, an international touring attraction, a recording artist, and a music publisher." The areas of music on which Doggett had an impact were equally diverse: jazz, bug-band swing, blues, vocal groups, even jazz and popular vocals (through his relationship with Ella Fitzgerald) and gospel (through Sister Rosetta Tharpe). Along the way he became one of the founding fathers of the rhythm & blues movement, although his own music was too diverse to be pigeonholed into any one category.
Like his 1956 blockbuster hit, "Honky Tonk", this classic 1964 album showcases the three thing that made Doggett famous: his keyboard playing (he helped put jazz organ on the map), his bluesy compositions, and his tight and funky bands. "Wow!" indeed.

1. Wow
2. Oo Da
3. Ol' Mose Blues
4. Happy Soul Time
5. Kicker
6. Mudcat
7. Ram Bunk Shush
8. Slow Walk
9. Fatso

Bill Doggett - organ
Elvin Shepard - alto & tenor saxophones
Andrew Ennis - tenor & baritone saxophones
Billy Butler, Lamar McDaniels - guitar
Al Lucas - bass
Emmett J. Spencer - drums
Charles E. Hatcher - percussion


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