During his teen years he would ply his trade in the nightclubs of Harlem and the prohibition hideaways, where he would often find himself backing blues singers.  It was during these times that he learned some of the rudiments of the blues, which would later influence his style of play. He didn't remain long in New York, though.

    In 1927, Basie toured the vaudeville circuit as a pianist. When the vaudeville act ended in Kansas City, he stayed to play in the organ pit during the era's silent films.  But his first real band job came when he joined the BLUE DEVILS, with bassist Walter Page. After a scant six months, though, Basie left the group to pursue solo work.  This time alone did not last though, as within a few more months he joined one of the top music leaders in the Midwest at the time, Bennie Moton.  Bennie hired Basie in 1929 as a member of the Kansas City Orchestra. He played there for a half-dozen years.  In 1935, after Moten's sudden death, Basie started his own band with musicians from Moten's outfit. Thus the Count Basie Orchestra was created.  From the beginning, Basie integrated elements of the blues into his band's repertoire.  With top-notch soloists, such as the saxophone players Herschel Evans and Lester Young, trumpeter Buck Clayton, trombonist Dickie Wells; a rhythm section that included drummer Jo Jones, bass player Walter Page, and rhythm guitarist Freddie Green.  When Earl Warren doubled as a singer during a live concert, Basie saw the possibility for adding more of the Kansas City Blues into his style.  He hired the great blues shouter Jimmy Rushing who redefined swinging-blues and recorded a number of popular songs with the band.  Basie also hired Joe Williams (with whom the group recorded its only hit single, "Everyday I Have the Blues," reaching number two on the R&B charts in 1955), Billie Holiday and Helen Humes to add their unique sounds to the Basie style.

    It was also in 1935 that William picked up his moniker as "Count." Basie once recalled, "One night the announcer called me over to the microphone for those usual few words of introduction.  He commented that Bill Basie was a rather ordinary name and that there were a couple of well known band leaders named Earl and Duke [Ellington].  Then he said, 'Bill, I think I'll call you Count Basie from now on. Is that all right with you?'  I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and replied, 'OK.'  Well that was the last time I was ever introduced as Bill Basie.  From then on, it was Count Basie."

    Count Basie enjoyed national exposure when he led the band on the Kate Smith radio program.  By the end of the thirties, the combination of air time and record sales made the Basie Band a hit from coast to coast.  His first West Coast trip was made in 1939, when he played at the San Francisco World’s Fair and the Palomar Ballroom.  The band was to be the first black band to perform at the Palomar, but two days before their opening, the ballroom burned to the ground.

    Basie was known as the leader of arguably the hardest swinging band of the 1930s and 40s.  Many of the bands coming up during this period were moving toward flashy effects, using tough arrangements and frenetic soloists; however, Basie's outfit was made up of a unique group of impressive sidemen who were more content to simply swing out, sometimes for hours on end, in the Kansas City tradition.  They didn't write much down; most of the early sides are "head arrangements," basically extended variations that turned into songs.

    On its first trip to New York City, Basie's homespun band was considered rough, playing "too loud" and "too long" for big-city tastes, but by the late 1930s, it had gained a nearly fanatic following.  It was tough for the groove to go wrong with a rhythm section featuring Walter Page on bass, Freddie Green on guitar, and Jo Jones on drums.  The band had a solid brass section, plus the trumpet skills of Buck Clayton and the twin tenors of Herschel Evans and Lester Young, the latter became a soloist who was a major influence on later bebop masters.

    The bands many hit songs included: "One O Clock Jump," "Good Morning Blues," "Jumping at the Woodside," "Lester Leaps In," "April In Paris," "Shiny Stockings," "Dickie’s Dream," "Taxi War Dance," "Tickle Toe," "Corner Pocket," "Basie Boogie," "John’s Idea," "Swinging the Blues," and "The Kid from Red Bank."

    Benny Goodman was once asked who had the best band (after his own, of course). Benny Goodman thought for a moment and replied, "Count Basie." Benny may have had the "Kansas City style" in mind. This style consisted of a "riff" that could be played either thematically or behind the soloists. Examples of this riff style can be heard in the Count's "One O'Clock Jump," Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" and also in Woody Herman's "Woodchopper's Ball".

    The first of many European tours in 1954 and a couple of extremely successful records gave the impetus for the band to remain in business for a further three decades. In the 1970s, Basie played in many all-star sessions without the band.  His only absences from public appearances were occasioned by illness, which in his last years obliged him to perform from a wheelchair. No matter how much he was crippled by illness, he still loved to perform.  In his later years, to ease his aging body, Basie made his home in the Bahamas with his wife, Catherine, a dancer with the Whitman Sisters, whom he married in 1942. Mrs. Basie passed away in 1983.

    When Basie was asked to name his greatest musical accomplishment, he simply replied by quoting Miles Davis who said, "Count taught a generation that the fewer notes you play the more musically technical you are; less is more."

    The Count’s final album was recorded during the week of May 11, 1983, and released on Pablo Records. 88 Basie Street had a very appealing title cut that seemed to sum up his career. As an indicator of his lingering presence, the album sold well over a million copies within a few weeks of its posthumous release.

    The Count was 79 years old when he died on April 26, 1984. At the New York services for Basie, Dave Brubeck said, "He’ll be remembered as long as there is a world. He was loved all over the world and all the jazz musicians had tremendous respect for him and he’ll never leave us. " Flags flew at half-staff throughout Red Bank, his hometown. The Count Basie style joined a long list of bands immortalized forever.