Zephire Andre Williams (November 1, 1936 – March 17,
2019) was an American R&B wildman whose
career as a singer, songwriter, producer, and A&R man stretched from the
'50s into the new millennium.
Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Zephire “Andre” Williams
escaped rural poverty for the bright lights of Detroit around 1950. Motor City
was booming and Williams, aware he lacked a voice but determined to succeed as
a vocalist, created a sing-speak style mixing humour and innuendo with the ruling
R&B and doo-wop musical styles of the time. Some have pointed to this vocal
delivery being one of the starting points for rap music.
In 1955, his unique style won him a local talent quest
and a contract with Fortune Records, a tiny independent run by Jack and Devora
Brown. Williams wrote and sang-spoke a series of lusty, comic records and
earned the nickname Mr Rhythm. His biggest hit came in 1956 with Bacon Fat, a
wonderfully greasy dance record that reached No 9 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
His funniest (and most disputable) record, Jail Bait – with wonderfully wry
advice to any man pondering a relationship with a teenage girl – was never
going to get radio play.
When Williams bumped into an aspiring mogul Berry Gordy
in the barber’s, he accepted a job offer. Gordy hired Williams not as an artist
but to produce and develop Motown’s new signings. He did so but disliked
Gordy’s autocratic manner, and left for Chicago, where he did a similar job at
One-derful. In 1963, he co-wrote
Shake a Tail Feather for the Five Du-Tones, a minor hit when released but almost immediately an R&B standard (it was most famously performed by Ray Charles in the film The Blues Brothers).
Shake a Tail Feather for the Five Du-Tones, a minor hit when released but almost immediately an R&B standard (it was most famously performed by Ray Charles in the film The Blues Brothers).
The next year, he wrote the R&B and pop hit Twine
Time, for Alvin Cash, and throughout the decade issued his own records while
writing and producing for everyone from Mary Wells to Parliament-Funkadelic to
Bobby “Blue” Bland. A call from Ike Turner inviting Williams to work with him
in Los Angeles – Shake a Tail Feather was a staple of Ike & Tina’s live set
– proved fateful: Williams picked up Turner’s cocaine habit and ended up
homeless and addicted.
Throughout the 1980s, Williams was in poverty because of
his drug addictions. He lived in Chicago, Illinois; at one point, he was
homeless, but at some point he began working Chicago’s blues clubs. He was
surprised to find he had a cult following. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
brought Williams to the UK in the mid-90s as support act.
In 1996, he released Mr. Rhythm, which featured new
renditions of his old tunes from the "Jail Bait" era. He changed his style with 1998's Silky. In
1999, he began his relationship with Bloodshot Records by recording a country album
with The Sadies, entitled Red Dirt. In 2000, Williams released The Black
Godfather, with two songs backed by The Dirtbombs. Williams toured Europe in 2001 (with 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. In early 2008 he undertook a European tour with
The Flash Express. At the pre-gig interview in London he was found a broken
man: Andre drank Bacardi the way most of us drink tea. He remained droll but
that evening’s performance, with a band only marginally less awful than the
previous time, found him slurring and staggering.
In 2010, Williams contributed a cover version of
"The Way You Dog Me Around" for the compilation album, Daddy Rockin
Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & The Diablos. The album was a tribute to
the late Nolan Strong.
Over those years, Chicago’s Bloodshot Records issued
several albums by Williams, most pretty hasty efforts, but 2012’s Hoods and
Shades, produced by noted Detroit guitarist Dennis Coffey, was a solid affair.
During an interview Williams was sober and happy to reflect on his life. He’d
finally got control of his royalties for Shake a Tail Feather, calling that
song his greatest creation. In 2012, Williams was inducted into the Michigan
Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Andre Williams died March 17, 2019, while in hospice care
in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with colon cancer
two weeks earlier. He had reportedly been battling several other health issues,
including seizures and strokes, though he was “committed to trying to sing and
record again.”
(Edited from Wikipedia & The Guardian)
4 comments:
For “Andre Williams _ Mr. Rhythm” go here;
https://www.upload.ee/files/9717634/AndWil_Rytm.rar.html
01 Bacon Fat
02 Jail Bait
03 Mozelle
04 The Greasy Chicken
05 Going Down To Tijuana
06 Jailhouse Blues
07 Don't Touch
08 My Tears
09 Just Want A Little Lovin'
10 Georgia Mae Is Moving
11 Andre Williams Is Moving
12 Pulling Time
13 Mean Jean
14 Pass The Biscuits Please
15 I Wanna Know Why
16 I'm All For You
17 Hey Country Girl
18 Come On Baby
19 Just Because Of A Kiss
20 Bobby Jean
21 Put A Chain On It
22 Is It True
23 My Last Dance With You
24 I Still Love You
25 Tossin' & Turnin'
26 You Are My Sunshine
27 Just Because
A very big thank you To Jake @ Jukebox City for active link.
enrolao nao canta nada
A largura de banda consumida. Tente mais tarde.
Dwmasié. Thanks a lot.
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