Johnny Williams (May 15, 1906 – March 6, 2006) was an American blues guitar player and singer based in Chicago, who was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues players to record after World War II.
Williams was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, to parents who were both musicians.[1] He was raised in Houston, Texas, and moved to Belzoni, Mississippi, to live with his uncle Anthony Williams after his mother died around 1917. There he met local musicians such as the Chatmon brothers and Charley Patton (with whom his uncle played) and learned to play the guitar.[2] After traveling north during the 1920s, he returned to Belzoni around 1930, where he occasionally played locally.[1]
Moving to Chicago in 1938,[1] he worked at first in the defense industry and later for Oscar Mayer.[3] By 1943 he was playing in clubs in the evenings while working as a meat packer in the daytime.[2] He worked with Theodore "Hound Dog" Taylor around 1944.[1] In 1945 he lost the end of a finger in a meat grinder and gave up playing the guitar for a year, until he saw Blind Arvella Gray, who was missing two fingers from his left hand, playing on Maxwell Street, and learned to play the guitar without the missing finger.[2] In the late 1940s Williams was once more playing on Maxwell Street and in clubs, often working with his cousin, the mandolin player Johnny Young; with the harmonica player Snooky Pryor and the guitarists Floyd Jones and Moody Jones;[4] or with Little Walter. He joined the musicians' union around this time.[3] He acquired the nickname Uncle Johnny, by which he was known among his blues associates for the rest of his life.
RecordingsEdit
Williams's first recordings were made in 1947 with Johnny Young[5] and resulted in one of the two singles issued on the Ora-Nelle label. On one side of the record Young sang "Money Taking Woman" accompanied by Williams; on the other side Williams sang "Worried Man Blues".[6] In December 1948 Young and Williams were joined by Snooky Pryor to record a single for the Planet label.[3]
Williams continued to work in music into the 1950s, eventually joining Big Boy Spires's Rocket Four,[1] with whom he had his final recording session, for Chance Records, in 1953. The session resulted in a single released under Spires's name,[7] but the two tracks on which Williams sang were unreleased until the 1970s.[3]
Later career and deathEdit
After 1953 Williams continued to work with Hound Dog Taylor and others,[1] but he stopped playing blues in 1959 after a religious conversion and joined the Baptist church,[3] becoming a deacon in the early 1960s.[1]
Williams died in Chicago on March 6, 2006,[3] at the age of 99.
Rowe, M. (1981). Chicago Blues: The City and the Music. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN978-0306801457
October 18, 2023
johnny, williams, blues, musician, other, people, named, john, williams, john, williams, disambiguation, johnny, williams, 1906, march, 2006, american, blues, guitar, player, singer, based, chicago, first, generation, electric, blues, players, record, after, w. For other people named John Williams see John Williams disambiguation Johnny Williams May 15 1906 March 6 2006 was an American blues guitar player and singer based in Chicago who was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues players to record after World War II Johnny WilliamsAlso known asUncle Johnny Williams 1 Born 1906 05 15 May 15 1906Alexandria Louisiana U S DiedMarch 6 2006 2006 03 06 aged 99 Chicago Illinois U S GenresBluesInstrument s Vocals guitarYears active1930s 1959 Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Recordings 3 Later career and death 4 References 5 SourcesEarly life and career EditWilliams was born in Alexandria Louisiana to parents who were both musicians 1 He was raised in Houston Texas and moved to Belzoni Mississippi to live with his uncle Anthony Williams after his mother died around 1917 There he met local musicians such as the Chatmon brothers and Charley Patton with whom his uncle played and learned to play the guitar 2 After traveling north during the 1920s he returned to Belzoni around 1930 where he occasionally played locally 1 Moving to Chicago in 1938 1 he worked at first in the defense industry and later for Oscar Mayer 3 By 1943 he was playing in clubs in the evenings while working as a meat packer in the daytime 2 He worked with Theodore Hound Dog Taylor around 1944 1 In 1945 he lost the end of a finger in a meat grinder and gave up playing the guitar for a year until he saw Blind Arvella Gray who was missing two fingers from his left hand playing on Maxwell Street and learned to play the guitar without the missing finger 2 In the late 1940s Williams was once more playing on Maxwell Street and in clubs often working with his cousin the mandolin player Johnny Young with the harmonica player Snooky Pryor and the guitarists Floyd Jones and Moody Jones 4 or with Little Walter He joined the musicians union around this time 3 He acquired the nickname Uncle Johnny by which he was known among his blues associates for the rest of his life Recordings EditWilliams s first recordings were made in 1947 with Johnny Young 5 and resulted in one of the two singles issued on the Ora Nelle label On one side of the record Young sang Money Taking Woman accompanied by Williams on the other side Williams sang Worried Man Blues 6 In December 1948 Young and Williams were joined by Snooky Pryor to record a single for the Planet label 3 Williams continued to work in music into the 1950s eventually joining Big Boy Spires s Rocket Four 1 with whom he had his final recording session for Chance Records in 1953 The session resulted in a single released under Spires s name 7 but the two tracks on which Williams sang were unreleased until the 1970s 3 Later career and death EditAfter 1953 Williams continued to work with Hound Dog Taylor and others 1 but he stopped playing blues in 1959 after a religious conversion and joined the Baptist church 3 becoming a deacon in the early 1960s 1 Williams died in Chicago on March 6 2006 3 at the age of 99 The blues musicians John Lee Hooker and Baby Boy Warren have also used the name Johnny Williams 1 References Edit a b c d e f g h i Harris S 1981 Blues Who s Who New York Da Capo Press pp 570 571 a b c Rowe 1981 p 54 a b c d e f The Chance Label Hubcap clemson edu Retrieved August 25 2009 Rowe 1981 p 53 Leadbitter M Fancourt L Pelletier P 1994 Blues Records 1943 1970 vol 2 L Z London Record Information Services p 804 Rowe 1981 pp 52 54 Rowe 1981 p 129 Sources EditRowe M 1981 Chicago Blues The City and the Music New York Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0306801457 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johnny Williams blues musician amp oldid 1104333778, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
