Joe Williams (jazz singer)

Williams was born in Cordele, Georgia, the son of Willie Goreed and Anne Beatrice née Gilbert. When he was about three, his mother and grandmother took him to Chicago.[1] He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where he attended Austin Otis Sexton Elementary School and Englewood High School.[1] In the 1930s, as a teenager, he was a member of a gospel group, the Jubilee Boys, and performed in Chicago churches.

He began singing professionally as a soloist in 1937. He sometimes sang with big bands: from 1937 he performed with Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, and also toured with Les Hite in the Midwest.[2] In 1941 he toured with Coleman Hawkins to Memphis, Tennessee. In 1943 he performed in Boston with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra.[3] He sang with Red Saunders at the Club DeLisa in Chicago in 1945, and in 1946 was in New York with Andy Kirk.[3]

In the late 1940s Williams was ill and performed little. By October 1950 he was again at the Club DeLisa with Red Saunders, where Count Basie heard him.[3]

Joe Williams at the Palo Alto Jazz Festival in September 1986

From 1954 to 1961 he was the singer for the Count Basie Orchestra.[3] "Every Day I Have the Blues", recorded in 1955, and "Alright, Okay, You Win" were among many successful recordings from this period.[3][4]

After leaving the Basie band, Williams had a successful career as a soloist at festivals, in clubs and on television.[3] He and Basie remained on good terms and he regularly appeared with the Basie orchestra. He toured and made recordings with many other musicians, including Harry "Sweets" Edison in 1961–62, Junior Mance between 1962 and 1964, George Shearing in 1971, and Cannonball Adderley between 1973 and 1975. He went on a long tour from Egypt to India with Clark Terry in 1977, and toured Europe and the United States with Thad Jones and the Basie Orchestra in 1985. He also worked with his own combos, which between 1970 and 1990 usually included the pianist Norman Simmons, and often had Henry Johnson on guitar.[3]

Williams sang with the Basie orchestra in two films, Jamboree in 1957 and Cinderfella in 1960.[1] He sometimes worked as an actor, and in 1985 took the rôle of "Grandpa Al" Hanks in Bill Cosby's popular The Cosby Show.[3] Williams appeared several times on Sesame Street in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1982 Joe played the part of a famous jazz musician, Sonny Goodman, in an episode ("Jazz") of the newspaper series, Lou Grant.

In later life Williams often worked in hotels and clubs in Las Vegas, but also sang at festivals and worked on cruise ships. He toured again with the Basie Orchestra, this time under the direction of Frank Foster, who had succeeded Thad Jones as leader of the band. Williams sang with the former Ellington Orchestra drummer Louie Bellson in Duke Ellington's jazz suite Black, Brown and Beige; in about 1993 or 1994 he again toured with George Shearing.[3]

Williams worked regularly until his death in Las Vegas on March 29, 1999, at the age of 80. He had been hospitalized the week before for a respiratory ailment, though the death was of natural causes.[2][5]

Williams won the Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy Award for his LP Nothin' but the Blues in 1984;[6] it was also the winning Traditional Blues Album in the Blues Music Awards of the Blues Foundation in the following year.[7] Williams was nominated for seven other Grammy awards: for Prez & Joe (1979); "8 to 5 I Lose" (1982); I Just Want To Sing (1986); Every Night: Live At Vine St. (1987); "I Won't Leave You Again" (with Lena Horne, 1988); "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" (with Marlena Shaw, 1989); and In Good Company (1989).[6]

In 1988, Williams received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.[8]

In 1992, his 1955 recording of "Every Day I Have the Blues" with Basie was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame for recordings of particular historical or qualitative importance.[2][9] Williams was added to the Jazz Wall of Fame of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2001.[10]

In 1988, with his wife Jillean and friends, Williams set up the not-for-profit Joe Williams Every Day Foundation to offer scholarships to talented young musicians.[11][12][13][14]

• Balliett, Whitney (1988). American Singers: Twenty-seven Portraits in Song. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195065732. p. 72.
• Calloway, E. (April 28, 1990). "Defender Newsboy Joe Williams Grew up to be a Great Vocalist". The Chicago Defender p. 33.
• Crowther, B. (1999). [obituary]. Jazz Journal International 52 (5): 18
• Dance, Stanley (1980). The World of Count Basie. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. p. 198. ISBN 9780684166049.
• Gardner, B. (1964). "Is Joe Williams Really Joe Williams?" Down Beat 31 (32): 19
• Gelb, H. (October 5, 1997). "Blues Singer Joe Williams Has Seen Hard Times, but Takes Solace from his Saviour: Joyful Noise". The San Francisco Examiner Magazine. p. 10.
• Gleason, R. J. (1956). Every Day is a Good Day for Joe Williams. Down Beat 23 (11): 11
• Gourse, Leslie (1985). Every Day: the Story of Joe Williams. London; New York: Quartet Books. ISBN 9780704324664.
• Harris, Sheldon (1979) Blues Who's Who: a Biographical Dictionary of Blues Singers. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. ISBN 9780870004254.
• Heckman, D. (March 31, 1999). [obituary]. Los Angeles Times
• Horricks, R. (1956). Joe Williams. Jazz Monthly 2 (7): 7
• Mitchell, R. (February 16, 1994). "Joe Williams Saves a Few of his High Notes". Houston Chronicle.
• Morgenstern, Dan (1987). "Joe Williams: the Boy Singer". JazzTimes (October): 36
• Sheridan, Chris (1986). Count Basie: a Bio-discography. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313249358.
• Siegel, J. E. (1980). "Talking with Joe Williams". Radio Free Jazz 21 (January): 12
• Smith, A. J. (1976). "Joe Williams: the Well Tempered Blaze of Vocal Excellence". Down Beat 43 (9): 11
• Tomkins, L. (1963). "Frankly Speaking: Joe Williams". Crescendo 1 (6): 10
• Travis, Dempsey J. (1983). An Autobiography of Black Jazz. Chicago, IL: Urban Research Institute. ISBN 9780941484039 p. 467.
• Williams, Joe (1980). "You and Me". Jazz Podium 29 (10): 12
• Zych, D. (1994). "Joe Williams: Celebrating Ev-e-ry-Day". Jazz Times 24 (2): 43
• [s.n.] (1988). Joe Williams. Jazz-Podium. 37 (7): 3

• Joe Williams at IMDb