Joseph Christopher Joe Liggins, Jr. was an American R’n’B, jazz and blues pianist and vocalist who led Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers in the 1940s and 1950s. His band appeared often on the Billboard magazine charts. Joe Liggins was the older brother of R’n’B performer Jimmy Liggins. Joe is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist.

The Phantom Dancer is your weekly non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week.

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JOE

Joe Liggins biggest hit was “The Honeydripper”, in 1945.

After high school, Joe Liggins, performed with local bands at clubs and naval bases in San Diego. He wrote arrangements on a freelance basis for Curtis Mosby’s Blue Blowers, and in 1935 Liggins joined the Creole Crusaders, led by the drummer Ellis Walsh.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1939, where he played with Sammy Franklin’s California Rhythm Rascals and other groups.

When Franklin turned down a chance to record Liggins’ song “The Honeydripper”, Liggins decided to start his own band. Joe Liggins’ Honeydrippers was formed in the basement of the Los Angeles home of the saxophonist Little Willie Jackson.

“The Honeydripper” topped the R’n’B chart for 18 weeks in 1945. More than 60 years later, It sold two million records.

LIGGINS

The Honeydrippers performed at five of the Cavalcade of Jazz concerts, all of which took place at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.

In the Honeydrippers were:
Little Willie Jackson – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
James Jackson, Jr. – tenor saxophone
Joe Liggins – piano, vocal
Frank Pasley – guitar
Eddie Davis – bass
Preston “Peppy” Prince – drums

The first Cavalcade of Jazz concert was on September 23, 1945, and included Count Basie, The Peters Sisters, Slim and Bam, and Big Joe Turner to a crowd of 15,000.

The second Cavalcade of Jazz concert was held on October 12, 1946, and included Jack McVea, Slim Gaillard, T-Bone Walker, Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra and Louis Armstrong.

The third Cavalcade of Jazz was held on September 7, 1947, and included Woody Herman, The Valdḗs Orchestra, T-Bone Walker, Slim Gaillard, Johnny Otis and his Orchestra, Toni Harper, The Three Blazers, and Sarah Vaughan.

The fourth Cavalcade of Jazz was held September 12, 1948, and included Joe Adams as Emcee, Dizzy Gillespie, Frankie Lane, Little Miss Cornshucks, the Sweethearts of Rhythm, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Witherspoon, the Blenders and the Sensations.

The seventh Cavalcade of Jazz was held on July 8, 1951, and featured Billy Eckstine, Lionel Hampton, Percy Mayfield, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Roy Brown.

Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers were on the program for more Cavalcade of Jazz concerts than any other artist. In the program description it was noted that band critics called Joe Liggins and his Original Honeydrippers, “The Hottest Little Band in the Land.”

Liggins had a series of further R’n’B chart hits on the Exclusive label, including “Left a Good Deal in Mobile” (#2, 1945); “Got a Right to Cry” (#2, 1946); “Tanya” (#3, 1946); and “Blow Mr. Jackson” (#3, 1947).[14] He signed with Specialty Records in 1950, where he gained more hits, including “Rag Mop” (#4, 1950), “Boom-Chick-A-Boogie”, “Pink Champagne” (#1 for 13 weeks in 1950), and “Little Joe’s Boogie”. “Pink Champagne” also reached number 30 on the pop chart,[14] and both “Pink Champagne” and “Got A Right To Cry” sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs.

His songs were mostly a blend of jump blues and basic R’n’B. With Roy Milton, he was an architect of the small-band jump blues of the first post-war decade.

Liggins often toured with such acts as Jimmy Witherspoon, Amos Milburn and the jump blues shouter H-Bomb Ferguson.

In March 1954, the band took part in a benefit show held at the Club 5-4 in Los Angeles for the wife of Stan Getz.

In 1946, before the concept of rock music had been defined, Billboard described the group’s song “Sugar Lump” as “right ryhthmic rock and roll music”.

Although Liggins’ success stopped in the late 1950s, he continued to perform until his death at age 71