ArtistInfo

Bill Aikins

key, p,
R&B/Soul and World
A.k.a. William Aikins

Bill Aikin’s career began in Nashville, TN, where as a musician, he recorded, performed and toured with celebrity entertainers such as Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Carl Perkins, and Hank Williams, Jr. While recording and traveling with Hank Williams, Jr. for 3 ½ years, Aikins also accompanied Grand Ole Opry stars such as Patsy Cline, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, and many others. In February of 1968, he moved to Las Vegas, NV where he worked for Bill Porter (Elvis Presley’s sound engineer) and Brent Maher (producer for The Judds) at the United Recording Studio. While there, he recorded with Dobie Gray (In Crowd, Drift Away), Kenny O'Dell (Behind Closed Doors), and many others. Parallel to his work as a studio musician, he performed regularly in Las Vegas hotels with his own group, Southern Comfort. In 1969, he joined forces with Bobby Darin, with whom he recorded exclusively for several years, and accompanied on tour until Darin’s untimely death in December 1973. As Darin’s musical director, accompanist, and conductor, Aikins performed in the main showrooms of various Las Vegas hotels. He also accompanied Darin on all major TV shows which included The Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson), the Flip Wilson Show, the Dick Cavet Show, the David Frost Show, the Della Reese Show and the Joey Bishop Show, among others. Since that time, he has fronted his own trio, worked as a solo pianist in every major Las Vegas hotel, and toured with Wayne Newton and his orchestra in the late 1990’s. When not actively performing he teaches music and piano, and is a member of his church’s worship team.

Instruments

• Keyboards
• Piano

Genres

• R&B/Soul
• World
• Rock
• Folk

Plays With

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Acknowledgements

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