Joe Liggins - Biography
By J Poet
Los Angeles based piano player and arranger Joe Liggins was one of the transitional figures in American popular music, an artist whose work progressed from urban blues to R&B to early rock’n’roll. His biggest hit, “The Honeydripper,” was #1 on the R&B charts for 18 weeks in 1945 and is considered by many critics to be one of the first rock’n’roll hits. Liggins remained an active performer until his death in 1987.
Joe Liggins was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma in 1915, but the family moved to San Diego when he was 17. Liggins grew up playing trumpet and piano and after high school was a popular sideman and arranger in local combos. In 1939, he moved to Los Angeles and played in the bands of Cee Pee Johnson and Sammy Franklin’s California Rhythm Rascals. A tune Liggins wrote, “The Honeydripper,” became an on stage hit for The Rascals, but Franklin didn’t want to record the tune. Liggins quit the band and started his own group, The Honeydrippers, with himself on piano, “Little” Willie Jackson and James Jackson on saxes, and Eddie Davis on bass.
“The Honeydripper” evolved into a 15-minute tour de force; The Honeydrippers played it every night and the crowds went wild. Leon René owner of Exclusive Records recorded it on Exclusive as “The Honeydripper, Part 1” b/w “The Honeydripper, Part 2.” The song short to #1 on the R&B charts and by the end of 1946 had sold over two million records. Roosevelt Sykes, Cab Calloway and Jimmie Lunceford all covered it, but Liggins’ version was the biggest hit.
Liggins followed up with “Left A Good Deal In Mobile” with vocals by ex-Duke Ellington singer Herb Jeffries, “I Got A Right To Cry” which was another big it, "Harlemesque," and "I Know My Love Is True." Liggins and The Honeydrippers ruled the R&B scene on Central Avenue and continued to score hits with "Dripper's Boogie," “Groovy Groove,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Big Baritone” and “I Cover The Waterfront.” Those tunes and more are collected on The Shuffle Boogie King (2002 Proper Pair UK) a two CD, 50 track compilation.
In 1949 Exclusive went belly up, but Art Rupe of Specialty Records signed the band. Their first record for Specialty was a cover of the pop hit “Rag Mop,” and it was an R&B hit. His second Specialty single "Pink Champagne" b/w "Sentimental Love" was another million seller. “Pink Champagne” made Liggins a headliner; he toured the south and sold out a week long run at the Apollo Theater in New York. “Pink Champagne” becomes one of the best selling singles of 1950.
Liggins and the band stay on the road and continue to chart with "Tanya,” “The Big Dipper,” and “Everybody's Down On Me.” In 1955 Liggins and his band headline one of the first big R&B package shows, a 4th of July “picnic” sponsored by New Jersey R&B station WNJR with Roy Hamilton, The Orioles, Big Maybelle, Larry Darnell, Bull Moose Jackson, Varetta Dillard, Nappy Brown, The Dreams, Luther Bond, The Orchids and The Honeydrippers. But the rock’n’roll era is dawning; Specialty drops Liggins to concentrate on Little Richard. Joe Liggins & the Honeydrippers (1992 Specialty) collects 25 tunes from the Specialty years including “Pink Champagne,” “Rag Mop” and a remake of “The Honeydripper.” Dripper's Boogie, Vol. 2 (1992 Specialty) gives you a fine selection of his less commercial sides. Liggins signed with Mercury and made a few singles, later collected on the album Honeydripper (1962 Mercury), but rock’n’roll has eroded much of the R&B fan base.
Liggins leaves Mercury to sign with Aladdin, but his days as a hit maker are over. Dot Records (now part of Universal Music) reissues "The Honeydripper" and "I've Got A Right To Cry,” but they fail to chart. Liggins remained popular in LA, although with a much smaller audience. The jump blues revival of the early 80s revived interest in Liggins and his music, and he began touring again, leading a little big band until he died in 1987.
Classics, a reissue label, has released all of Liggins’ known recordings on The Chronological Joe Liggins 1944-1946 (2004 Classics R&B), The Chronological Joe Liggins 1946-1948 (2004 Classics R&B), The Chronological Joe Liggins 1948-1950 (2004 Classics R&B), and The Chronological Joe Liggins 1950 -1952 (2004 Classics R&B.)
