Wild Bill Davis

Wild Bill Davis Biography

Wild Bill Davis (24 November 1918–17 August 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Davis. Davis was born in Glasgow, Missouri. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electronic organ recordings and for his seminal four-year tenure with the Tympany Five, the legendary backing group for Louis Jordan. Prior to the emergence of Jimmy Smith in 1956, Davis (whom Smith had reportedly first seen playing organ in the 1930s) was the pacesetters among organists. He originally played guitar and wrote arrangements for Milt Larkin's legendary band during 1939–1942. Davis played a crucial role as the pianist-arranger in Louis Jordan's Tympany Five (1945–1949) at the peak of their success in the period 1945–1949, before switching to organ in 1950 and heading his own influential organ/guitar/drums trios. Davis was originally supposed to record "April in Paris" with Count Basie's Orchestra in 1955 but when he could not make the session, Basie used his arrangement for the full band and had a major hit. In addition to working with his own groups in the 1960s, Davis made several albums with his friend Johnny Hodges, leading to tours during 1969–1971 with Duke Ellington. In the 1970s he recorded for the Black & Blue records label with a variety of swing all-stars, and he also played with Lionel Hampton, appearing at festivals through the early 1990s.