Artist's albums
Greatest Organ Solos Ever!
1986 · album
Live at Sonny's Place 1986
2023 · album
Live at Sonny's Place 1985
2023 · album
Wild Bill Davis At Birdland
2011 · album
The Everest Years: Wild Bill Davis
2006 · album
In Atlantic City (Live)
1967 · album
Midnight to Dawn
1967 · album
Dance the Madison!
1958 · album
Organ Grinder's Swing
1958 · album
The Everest Years: Wild Bill Davis
1958 · album
Blues for Barbara / Boogie Woogie
1960 · single
Dance the Madison
1960 · single
Independence Day Hora / Like a Young Man
1961 · single
The Music from Milk & Honey
1961 · album
Doin' His Thing
1969 · album
Con-Soul and Sax
1965 · album
Free, Frantic and Funky
1965 · album
Live at Count Basie's
1965 · album
On the Street Where You Live
1965 · single
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Biography
With the dynamic, swirling sounds of his Hammond B-3 organ, Wild Bill Davis provided a bridge from the big band swing of the 1930s and '40s to the organ-driven R&B of the 1950s and early '60s. Together with guitarist Floyd Smith and drummer Chris Columbus, Davis set the framework for the jazz organ combo sound. Initially a guitarist, Davis made his debut with Milt Larkin's band in 1939. The group is remembered for the double-saxophone attack of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and Arnett Cobb. Davis, who was inspired by the guitar playing of Freddie Green, remained with the band until 1942. Moving to the piano, Davis joined Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5 in 1945. By then, he had already attracted attention as a skilled writer and arranger. He later furnished original material and arrangements for both Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He was scheduled to record his arrangement of "April in Paris" with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1955, but was unable to make it to the recording sessions. Recorded without his participation, the tune went on to be a Top 30 pop hit. Intrigued by the organ playing of Fats Waller and Count Basie, Davis began to experiment with the Hammond B-3. He soon developed his unique approach. "I thought of (the organ) as a replacement in clubs for a big band," he said during a late-'80s interview. Although he left Jordan's band after five years to form his own trio, Davis periodically returned to play special engagements. Although eclipsed by succeeding jazz organists, including Jimmy Smith and Bill Doggett in the late '50s, and Booker T. Jones in the '60s, Davis remained active until his death from a heart attack in August 1995. His summer appearances in Atlantic City, New Jersey were an annual treat for almost three decades. A native of Moorestown, New Jersey, Davis studied music at Tuskegee University and Wiley College in Texas. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi