Andre Williams
(born Zephire Andre Williams
in Bessemer, Alabama, on November 1, 1936) is an American R&B and punk blues musician who started his career in the 1950s at Fortune Records in Detroit.
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ANDRE WILLIAMS TICKETS
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Biography
Williams lived in a
housing project with his mother until she died when he was six years of age. A sly and smart young boy, his "aunties" raised him until he was around 16. He then set out on his own and moved to
Detroit, Michigan. There, he became friends with Jack and Devora Brown, owners of
Fortune Records which was located at the back of a barber shop.
He then became lead singer for The 5 Dollars in 1955, which already had a contract with
Fortune Records. Though most of the songs were billed as 'Andre Williams and the Don Juans' (on Epic in 1956 billed as 'Andre Mr Rhythm Williams and his New Group'), "Bacon Fat" and "Jail Bait" were solo efforts. "Bacon Fat" hit #9 on the
Billboard R&B Charts in 1957. "Bacon Fat" (written by Williams) was such a success that Fortune Records sold the song to
Epic Records, a much larger distributor (released as Epic 5-9196 "Bacon Fat/Just because of a Kiss"). Since "Bacon Fat" and "Jail Bait" were such successes, Williams figured that "talking instead of singing" was a better idea for him, for he didn't have as good a voice as some other singers from the 1950s. In 1960 Fortune released a complete LP, of all of his singles with the Don Juans, which was titled
Jail Bait
(rereleased in 1986). This was just the start of Williams' nationwide fame.
In 1960 he appeared on
Motown's Miracle Record label releasing "Rosa Lee".
In the early 1960s, Williams co-wrote
Stevie Wonder's first song called "Thank You for Loving Me." Williams' "Shake a Tail Feather" was also a hit in 1963 for
the Five Du-Tones and then for
Ike & Tina Turner.
Alvin Cash & the Crawlers also made a hit out of the Williams song "Twine Time." As well as making these
hits, Williams also supervised the making of two or more albums by
The Contours. Additionally, in the '60s, Williams was the manager and
roadie for soul singer
Edwin Starr.
In 1966 Williams released two records on the Avin Record Label, then two records were released on Detroit's Wingate label:"Loose Juice" and "Do it". Then on the
Ric Tic label in 1967 he released; "You Got It and I Want It".
In 1968, Williams was signed to
Chess Records on Checker,
Chicago's major
blues label. He was back... wearing velvet lavender suits and playing "bucket-of-blood" styled joints. Chess released many hits for Williams — "Humpin' Bumpin' and Thumpin'" and "Cadillac Jack" in particular. Then, he began to work with many unknown
black labels and release songs like "Sweet Little Pussy Cat" and "Rib Tips, Pts. 1 & 2." In 1968, Williams
collaborated with the Natural Bridge Bunch to release "Pig Snoots," a
novelty song about a man named Ricky who would "come all way cross town to get me some snoots". In the 1970s, Williams wrote some songs for
Parliament (band) and
Funkadelic, two popular funk groups. (Comedian
Redd Foxx then dubbed Andre Williams his most famous nickname, Mr. Rhythm). Once again, Williams began to produce cuts for
Ike Turner.
Throughout the 1980s, Andre Williams was in poverty because of his drug
addictions. He lived in
Chicago, Illinois; at one point, he was homeless and begging for money on a Chicago bridge.
In 1996, Andre Williams released
Mr. Rhythm
, which featured new renditions of his old tunes from the "Jail Bait" era. Some included "The Greasy Chicken," "Mean Jean," and "Pass the Biscuits Please." It was a definite comeback for Williams, but the most of the crowd had already forgotten about him, and wanted newer-styled music.
He changed his style with 1998's
Silky
. Considered the "world's sleaziest album ever",
Silky
revolutionized the punky style, dubbed
Sleaze rock. Mark Deming speaks about
Silky
: It's "noise-spattered, stripped-down, roots-punk assault, and the results are flat-out nuts." Though sleaze rockers idolized Williams, most critics preferred his original style.
In 1999, he recorded a country album with
The Sadies, called
Red Dirt
.
In 2000, Andre Williams released
The Black Godfather
. The noisy, electric, fuzzy sound was back, with two songs backed by
The Dirtbombs. By this time, Andre was already back on stage, performing at the "bucket-of-blood" clubs again. 'The Black Godfather' became his new nickname, along with the outdated 'Mr. Rhythm'.
In 2001 he discussed his recent conversion to Judaism and circumcision.
[1]
In 2002–2003 he toured with the Dutch
sleaze rock band Green Hornet.
A return to soul-style music came with
Aphrodisiac
in 2006. "The result is a more laid-back and funky groove that's soulful but potent at the same time, fusing '70s
blaxploitation sounds,
Jimmy Smith-style
jazz figures, and
Booker T.-influenced R&B workouts into one solid package" is the way Mark Deming described the album.
Williams still plays shows in the USA, and toured Europe in 2001 (with Dutch band Green Hornet as backing band), 2005 and 2006 (with the
Marshall Brothers). From August to November 2006, he had a short European tour, ending in Switzerland. Then in early 2008 a European tour with The Flash Express.
In 2007, Andre finished recording his latest album with the New Orleans based band,
Morning 40 Federation. The album, titled
Can You Deal With It
, was released by
Bloodshot Records in 2008 and is credited to Andre Williams & the New Orleans Hellhounds (the pseudonymous Morning 40 Federation).
Documentary
There is a documentary movie titled "Agile Mobile Hostile: A Year with Andre Williams"
Selective discography
- 1960: Jail Bait
- 1986: Bacon Fat
- 1990: Directly from the Streets
- 1994: Mr. Rhythm Is Back
- 1996: Mr. Rhythm
- 1996: Greasy
- 1998: Silky
- 1999: Red Dirt
- 2000: The Black Godfather
- 2001: Bait & Switch
- 2003: Holland Shuffle
(Live)
- 2006: Aphrodisiac
(with The Diplomats of Solid Sound)
- 2008: Can You Deal with It?
(with The New Orleans Hellhounds)
References
- Andre Williams- interview with the Black Godfather