Joe Williams and Me...

It’s not that you want to sing, it’s that you have to sing.

Joe Williams

Joe Williams Sings Everyday (1956 recordings, 1969 reissue) signed by Joe

In Chicago in those days, we had what were called breakfast dances. The shows would start at six in the morning and be over by eight. The one where I first heard Big Joe Turner was at a club that seated maybe five-hundred. Joe Turner got on the stage, and even though he had no microphone, I could hear him as clear as day singing, “Oh baby, you sure look good to me."

Joe Williams

Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (1955) signed by Joe, al Grey, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Harry ‘Sweets ‘Edison

I can’t give you what you’re worth, but things get better for me, they get better for you.

Count Basie on hiring Joe Williams

Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (1955) signed by Count

When I’m finished with a song, I don’t feel like taking a solo bow. I just say ‘we’ instead of’I’ when I talk to the audience. This is a group effort and Basie is the greatest.

Joe Williams

Every Day I Have The Blues (1959) signed by Joe

We were in Boston and went to a theater where Buddy Johnson and his band were playing. Buddy's sister, Ella, was singing “Alright, Okay You Win” and I was just kidding with Basie, talking about the way she was singing it. Later that night, we were in an after-hours joint...(Drummer) Sonny Payne and I were still kidding about this chick singing her head off. 'She sure sounds funky, doesn't she?' he said. 'Yeah,' Basie said, turning to me, 'and you ought to sing that song.' I thought he was kidding me, but he knew how to get my goat and make me angry. 'You probably can't sing it as well as that (girl) can.' So I got with Frank Foster and he made an arrangement...I was concerned it didn't suit a male vocalist. So I changed it. After I recorded it, the people who wrote the tune recalled the sheet music, rewrote it the way I did it, and now everybody does it that way.

Joe Williams

Chains Of Love (1964) signed by Joe

The church was the beginning of almost all of our lives. That's where we come from, so it is normal that we should go back to it.

Joe Williams on his last album Feel The Spirit 1994

A New Kind Of Love (963) signed by Joe

There ain’t but one. He was a raucous, rock ‘em, sock ‘em blues singer. He wasn’t like an old down home boy, cotton field type thing. You know, he was more urban… one of the first blues singers that I could understand what he was singing.

Joe Williams on hearing Big Joe Turner in 1938

Nothin’ But The Blues (1984) signed by Joe

Joe Williams, a great jazz and blues singer, was born in rural Georgia in 1919. Joe moved to Chicago as a child, and he was exposed to the thriving music scene of the day and artists like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Big Joe Turner. Joe started singing in the church and was recruited to sing in big bands in the 1940s led by Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton. Joe gained fame when he joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1954 and recorded his biggest hit, "Everyday I Have The Blues." He stayed with Basie off and on for the next 30 years, until the Count checked out in 1984. In tribute, Joe sang Ellington's elegiac  "Come Sunday" at Basie's funeral mass.

The Overwhelming Joe Williams (1988) signed by Joe

I saw Joe many times over the years and he was always very kind and gracious. The days of the big bands were long gone, and it was great to see Joe in intimate venues with a small trio or quartet accompanying him. Joe had a regal and impressive sound, and a commanding stage presence. His dulcet baritone was buttery smooth, his diction precise, and his phrasing flawless. When he sang "Five O'Clock In The Morning", "Every Day I Have The Blues", or "Please Send Me Someone To Love", you believed every word, as he had lived these songs as well as sing them.

Every Night (1987) signed by Joe, Henry Johnson, Norman Simmons

 One memorable show was at Blues Alley in Washington, DC in the late 1980s. Joe was appearing with a trio led by the estimable Norman Simmons on piano. Before the show, I went backstage to visit with Joe but his dressing room was empty. He was nowhere. I met Norman, guitarist Henry Johnson, and bassist Lisle Atkinson, and we chatted briefly and they signed some records. I returned to my table, and ten minutes later, Norman and the trio started playing a blues vamp to warm up the crowd. Still no sign of Joe.

I Just Want To Sing (1985) signed by Joe

.A couple of songs later, the front door opens, a gust of wind blows, and Joe Williams enters. He heads to the bar which is deserted, takes off his beautiful cashmere Burberry coat, and orders a drink. Scotch on the rocks. Joe swishes the drink around the ice in his crystal glass, and listens to his band.  So much for vocal exercises and warm ups, I thought I was watching a Johnnie Walker Black commercial in real time. The trio finishes their song, Joe finishes his drink, and he strides confidently to the stage. And he kills it. Just like he did every time.

 Joe Williams, a singer's singer, the embodiment of style and grace.

Jump For Joy (1963) signed by Joe

Having The Blues Under European Sky (1974 recordings, 1996 release) signed by Joe

With Love (1972) signed by Joe

In Good Company (1989) signed by Joe

 Choice Joe Williams Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g-m9SHp7KU
"Here's To Life"  Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, late 1990s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAGbO9nDuak
"After You've Gone"  I Just Want To Sing  1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoZhacVsv1E
"Singin' Da Blues (Cherry Red)"  Big Joe Turner sings with Joe Williams  1984

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNCzfPhdd2M
"Alright, O.K., You Win"  Joe swings with Basie and Sinatra  1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Ng-c9ZS3k
"Lush Life"  Joe sings with Dr. Billy Taylor  1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOuCvEMZRbo
"Every Day I Have The Blues"  Joe Sings, Count Basie Swings  Carnegie Hall, 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK0szA1yltM

"Just The Way You Are"  Joe swings Billy Joel  1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MiIckOhU0
"Wayfaring Stranger"  Live At Newport '63

Prez & Joe (1979) signed by Joe

Worth Waiting For…(1970) signed by Joe

That Holiday Feelin’ (1990) signed by Joe