Real name: William English

Effective period / Period of releases: 1963

American jazz drummer. Bill English (who also went by "Billy") was born August 27, 1925 in New York City. He studied at the Greenwich House of Music in Greenwich Village.
His professional career as a drummer coincided with the rise of rhythm and blues, and he played with a number of such bands before going on to join Erskine Hawkins in 1953. In 1956-7 he played at Connie's, heading his own group, and from 1958 to 1961 worked as the house drummer at the famed Apollo Theater-New York City. After leaving the Apollo, he began free-lancing, notably working with Kenny Burrell, and Joe Newman, as well as other jazz figures including Sonny Thompson, Bennie Green, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Etta Jones, Quincy Jones, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Frank Foster, and Eddie Jefferson. He was active as a recording artist through the mid-1970s. English died March 4, 2007 in New York City.
For the Willie Nelson's band drummer please use Billy English.