"Honky Tonk" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

written by Billy Butler,

Bill Doggett William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" ...

, Clifford Scott, and

Shep Shepherd Berisford Shepherd, professionally known as Shep Shepherd (January 19, 1917 – November 25, 2018), was an American multi-instrumental jazz musician, composer and singer. Beginnings Shepherd's father Charlie Shepherd was an engineer from the Wes ...

. Doggett recorded it as a two-part

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1956. It became Doggett's signature piece and a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

recorded by many other performers. The instrumental peaked at number two for three weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was the biggest R&B hit of the year, spending thirteen non-consecutive weeks at the top of the charts. It was included in

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981).

James Brown version

In 1972,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

recorded "Honky Tonk" with his band The J.B.'s, who were credited as "The James Brown Soul Train". The song was released as a two-part single which reached number seven on the R&B chart and number 44 on the pop chart.Leeds, Alan (1995). Discography. In ''Funky Good Time: The Anthology'' D booklet New York: PolyGram Records.

References

{{authority control 1950s instrumentals 1956 singles 1956 songs 1972 singles American rock-and-roll songs James Brown songs King Records (United States) singles Songs written by Henry Glover