About Bill Sinegal
Lived 1928 – 2014 (aged 85). Bill Sinegal was an American musician and songwriter.
Willie Norman Sinegal (or Bill Sinigal; May 13, 1928 – April 14, 2014, New Orleans, Louisiana ) was an American rhythm and blues bass guitarist and songwriter from New Orleans. He is best known for his song Second Line.
Sinegal played tenor saxophone and C melody saxophone. He studied double bass at the Grunewald School of Music. He served in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, he worked in backup bands in New Orleans for musicians including Guitar Slim, Tommy Ridgley and Sugar Boy Crawford. In 1959, he began playing with Earl King. He toured extensively in the 1960s with Curtis Mayfield and Dee Clark.
In 1964 he released a R&B single with Bill Sinigal and the Skyliners called Second Line, Parts 1 & 2 which featured rhythms from a traditional Second line (parades) brass band song, Joe Avery's Blues. The song was recorded in the studio of Cosimo Matassa with Milton Batiste on trumpet, James Rivers on tenor saxophone, and Ellis Marsalis on piano. Second Line became a Mardi Gras standard.
In the late 1960s, he left the music business to work as a photographer.
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Important facts
People in Bill Sinegal's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Bill Sinegal's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Bill Sinegal?
American songwriter
When was Bill Sinegal born?
Bill Sinegal was born on 13 May 1928 in New Orleans.
When did Bill Sinegal die?
Bill Sinegal died on 14 April 2014.
What was Bill Sinegal's occupation?
Bill Sinegal was a musician and songwriter.
What nationality was Bill Sinegal?
Bill Sinegal was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Sinegal. https://biography.guide/bill-sinegal/
MLA: "Bill Sinegal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-sinegal/.
Chicago: "Bill Sinegal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-sinegal/.
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