Joe Liggins
| Joe Liggins | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Theodro Elliott |
| Also known as | Joseph Christopher Liggins Jr. |
| Born |
July 9, 1916 Seminole, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | July 31, 1987 (aged 71) Lynwood, California |
| Genres | R&B, jump blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1930s—1987 |
| Labels | Exclusive, Modern, Dot, Specialty |
Joseph Christopher "Joe" Liggins, Jr. (born Theodro Elliott; July 9, 1916 – July 26, 1987) was an American R&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. The band's biggest hit was "The Honeydripper", released in 1945. Joe Liggins was the older brother of R&B performer Jimmy Liggins.
The son of Harriett and Elijah Elliott, he was born in Seminole, Oklahoma, and took his stepfather's surname, Liggins, as a child. He apparently dropped the name Theodro and adopted the names Joseph Christopher during the 1930s. The family moved to San Diego in 1932.
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. The original Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers recordings were issued on the Exclusive Records imprint of brothers Leon and Otis René. Joe Liggins' Honeydrippers was formed in the basement of the Los Angeles home of the saxophonist Little Willie Jackson, who co-founded the group and who, at the time of his death in 2001, was the last original surviving member of the Honeydrippers. "The Honeydripper" topped the R&B chart, then called the race chart, for 18 weeks in 1945. More than 60 years later, "The Honeydripper" remains tied with Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" for the longest-ever stay at the top of that chart. It logged a reported two million sales.
Liggins had a series of further R&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). 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, and both "Pink Champagne" and "Got A Right To Cry" sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs.
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