Williams grew up in a rough poor African-American neighborhood in the Third Ward of New Orleans known as "The Battleground". He was in and out of jails for much of his life. In addition to his work as a drummer, Williams was a bouncer and a prizefighter.
An early colleague of Louis Armstrong, Williams is referred to in Armstrong's autobiography and helped look after Armstrong during his childhood. Sidney Bechet talks about Black Benny Williams in his autobiography, as does Jelly Roll Morton in his Library of Congress interviews.
Williams was stabbed in a dispute on July 2, 1924, by a woman named Helena Lewis. By the time he arrived at Charity Hospital that day, "he had lost a significant amount of blood. His heart was sliced open. And he had no pulse. Doctors went to work on him anyway." A surgeon used four stitches to sew up Williams' heart, then transfused a pint of blood from Williams' sister. Williams then woke up and began to talk. However, an infection set in. He developed pneumonia, and died on July 6. His assailant, Helena Lewis, was shot in an altercation with another woman later that same month. She died at Charity Hospital on July 20.[1]
Referencesedit
^Account of Williams' death, nola.com. Accessed November 4, 2022.
Sourcesedit
Armstrong, Louis (1986). Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. ISBN978-0306802768.
black, benny, benjamin, benny, williams, 1890, 1924, better, known, drummer, from, orleans, birth, namebenjamin, williamsbornc, 1890new, orleans, louisiana, diedjuly, 1924new, orleans, louisiana, genresjazzoccupation, drummerinstrument, bass, drum, williams, g. Benjamin Benny Williams c 1890 1924 better known as Black Benny was a drummer from New Orleans Black BennyBirth nameBenjamin WilliamsBornc 1890New Orleans Louisiana U S DiedJuly 6 1924New Orleans Louisiana U S GenresJazzOccupation s DrummerInstrument s Bass drum Williams grew up in a rough poor African American neighborhood in the Third Ward of New Orleans known as The Battleground He was in and out of jails for much of his life In addition to his work as a drummer Williams was a bouncer and a prizefighter An early colleague of Louis Armstrong Williams is referred to in Armstrong s autobiography and helped look after Armstrong during his childhood Sidney Bechet talks about Black Benny Williams in his autobiography as does Jelly Roll Morton in his Library of Congress interviews Williams was stabbed in a dispute on July 2 1924 by a woman named Helena Lewis By the time he arrived at Charity Hospital that day he had lost a significant amount of blood His heart was sliced open And he had no pulse Doctors went to work on him anyway A surgeon used four stitches to sew up Williams heart then transfused a pint of blood from Williams sister Williams then woke up and began to talk However an infection set in He developed pneumonia and died on July 6 His assailant Helena Lewis was shot in an altercation with another woman later that same month She died at Charity Hospital on July 20 1 References edit Account of Williams death nola com Accessed November 4 2022 Sources editArmstrong Louis 1986 Satchmo My Life in New Orleans ISBN 978 0306802768 Bechet Sidney Treat it Gentle Da Capo Press 2nd ed edition March 5 2002 ISBN 978 0306811081 This article on an American jazz drummer is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black Benny amp oldid 1164001775, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
