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Dottie Dodgion

Dottie Dodgion (born Dorothy Rosalie Giaimo; September 23, 1929) is an American jazz drummer and singer. Dodgion was born in Brea, California. As a child, Giaimo sang in the band led by her father, a drummer. She grew up in the Bay Area and sang with Charles Mingus as a teenager, then married Monty Budwig. She began playing drums while married to Budwig in the 1950s, but Budwig tried to dissuade her from the instrument; she received encouragement to play from Jerry Dodgion, and subsequently divorced Budwig to marry Dodgion. She worked with Carl Fontana in Las Vegas toward the end of the decade and then relocated to New York City in 1961. There she played in Benny Goodman's ensemble for about one week, then moved on to work with Marian McPartland and Eddie Gom… more »