Joseph Christopher 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 graduated from Hoover High School, studied music at San Diego State College, and performed with local bands at clubs and Naval bases. He wrote arrangements on a freelance basis for Curtis Mosby’s Blue Blowers, and in 1935 Liggins joined the Creole Crusaders, which was led by the drummer Ellis Walsh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfrp-8PEHm0