Articles by Daniel Gould

Honky Tonk at Seventy

by Daniel Gould
May 17, 2026

Seventy years ago this summer, a group of jazz men made a record that became the genre's first million-seller. The group was the Bill Doggett Combo, and the track was “Honky Tonk, Parts 1 & 2" (King, 1956). It sold 4 million copies worldwide and went to #2 (Pop) and #1 (R&B). While Bill Doggett always said that the group spontaneously created the song on a bandstand in Lima, Ohio, the full story is perhaps a bit more nuanced and ...