Clarence Williams (musician): Difference between revisions

Clarence Williams
Clarence Williams
Background information
Born	October 8, 1893 or October 8, 1898 (sources differ); Plaquemine, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	November 6, 1965 (age 67 or 72); Queens, New York City
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Piano

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Clarence Williams (October 8, 1898^[1]^[2] or October 6, 1893^[3] – November 6, 1965)^[1]^[2]^[3] was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher.

Biography

Williams was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to Dennis, a bassist, and Sally Williams, and ran away from home at age 12 to join Billy Kersands' Traveling Minstrel Show, then moved to New Orleans. At first, Williams worked shining shoes and doing odd jobs, but soon became known as a singer and master of ceremonies. By the early 1910s, he was a well-regarded local entertainer also playing piano, and was composing new tunes by 1913. Williams was a good businessman and worked arranging and managing entertainment at the local African American vaudeville theater as well as at various saloons and dance halls around Rampart Street, and at clubs and houses in Storyville.^[3]^[4]

Williams started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader Armand J. Piron in 1915, which by the 1920s was the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country. He toured briefly with W. C. Handy, set up a publishing office in Chicago, then settled in New York in the early 1920s. In 1921, he married blues singer and stage actress Eva Taylor, with whom he would frequently perform.^[3]^[4] They moved to Queens in the 1920s with the intention of creating a community of black artists. He envisioned a space where African American artists could live, work, and collaborate together, free from the racial discrimination and segregation that was prevalent in other parts of the city at the time.^[5]^[6]

Williams and his wife, Eva Taylor, purchased a large house on Ruscoe Street (108th Ave near Addisleigh Park)^[7] and turned it into a gathering place for black artists, musicians, and intellectuals. They hosted regular parties and events, which attracted many notable figures from the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Duke Ellington.^[8]

Harlem Renaissance

He was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. He supervised African American recordings (the 8000 race series) for the New York offices of Okeh phonograph company in the 1920s in the Gaiety Theatre office building in Times Square.^[9] He recruited many of the artists who performed on the label. He also recorded extensively, leading studio bands frequently for OKeh, Columbia and occasionally other record labels.^[3]^[4]

He mostly used "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his washboard sides. He also produced and participated in early recordings by Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith, Virginia Liston, Irene Scruggs, his niece Katherine Henderson,^[10] and others. Two of his 1924 recording bands, "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" and "Clarence Williams' Blue Five" featured cornetist Armstrong and soprano saxophonist Bechet, two of the most important early jazz soloists, in their only recordings together before the 1940s. Clarence Williams' Blue Five, a studio band only, formed after the success of King Oliver's recordings in order to explore the market for blues-oriented music.^[11] The rivalry between Armstrong and Bechet, who tried to outdo each other with successive solo breaks, is exemplified in "Cake Walkin' Babies from Home", the most celebrated of these performances, which survives in versions recorded by both bands.^[12] Although the narrative of a rivalry during these recordings is frequently discussed in scholarship, Armstrong and Bechet do have moments of friendly collaboration, such as the shared break in "Texas Moaner Blues."^[13] King Oliver played cornet on a number of Williams's late 1920s recordings. He was the recording director for the short-lived QRS Records label in 1928.^[3]^[4]

"I Can Beat You Doing What You're Doing Me" by Clarence Williams and Armand J. Piron, 1915 sheet music cover

Most of his recordings were songs from his publishing house, which explains why he recorded tunes like "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Close Fit Blues" and "Papa De-Da-Da" numerous times.^[14] Among his own compositions was "Shout, Sister, Shout" (1929), which was recorded by him, and also covered by the Boswell Sisters, in 1931.^[3]^[4]

Labels

In 1933, he signed to the Vocalion label and the recordings mostly featuring washboard percussion, through 1935 (and a session in 1938).^[3]^[4] He also recorded for Bluebird in 1937, and again in 1941.

In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to Decca Records for $50,000 and retired, but then bought a bargain used-goods store, the Harlem Thrift Shop. Williams died in Queens, New York City, in 1965, and was interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale on Long Island. On her death in 1977, his wife, Eva Taylor, was interred next to him.^[3]^[4]

Personal life

Clarence Williams' grandson is actor Clarence Williams III.^[1]

Work

Clarence Williams' name appears as composer or co-composer on numerous tunes, including a number which by Williams' own admission were written by others but which Williams bought all rights to outright, as was a common practice in the music publishing business at the time. Clarence Williams was also credited as the author of Hank Williams' 1949 hit "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It", a song that was later recorded by Louis Armstrong. In 1970, Williams was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[3]^[4]

Songs

"I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" (as publisher – not composer, suspected to be originally Armstrong's "Katie's Head" bought by Piron and Williams)^[15]
"I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None o' this Jelly-Roll [de]" (with Spencer Williams, 1919)
"Sugar Blues" (1919)
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" (1919)
"Royal Garden Blues" (with Spencer Williams, 1919)
"Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (and others, 1922)
"Shout, Sister, Shout"
"You Missed A Good Woman"
"That Ought To Do It"
"Look What A Fool I've Been"
"Got To Cool My Doggies Now"
"I Can Beat You Doing What You're Doing Me"
"Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" (1931)
"My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (1933)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director". Internet Broadway Database (The Broadway League). Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Clarence Williams, Entrepreneur and Jazz and Blues Artist". African American Registry. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Clarence Williams Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "The Music of Clarence Williams". Basin Street. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
^ "Fun Maps: The Queens Jazz Trail by Ephemera Press". Untappedcities.com. 12 December 2013.
^ "Addisleigh Park | HDC". Hdc.org. 31 August 2012.
^ "A self-guided jazz tour through Queens". Qchron.com. 30 January 2014.
^ [1] ^{[dead link]}
^ Bloom, Ken (2003). Broadway: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0203644355. Retrieved 16 April 2023 – via Google Books.
^ "Katherine Henderson accompanied by Clarence Williams and his Orchestra". Redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
^ Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots by Rick Kennedy, 2013, ISBN 978-0-253-00747-6, p. 87
^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
^ Lockhart, John M. "Words & Music", The Riverside Reader Archived 2012-12-14 at the Wayback Machine, February 4, 2008, p. 5
^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.

External links

[ibdb-1] "Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director". Internet Broadway Database (The Broadway League). Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.

[aar-2] "Clarence Williams, Entrepreneur and Jazz and Blues Artist". African American Registry. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2015.

[williams-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Clarence Williams Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2014.

[clarence-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "The Music of Clarence Williams". Basin Street. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2014.

[5] "Fun Maps: The Queens Jazz Trail by Ephemera Press". Untappedcities.com. 12 December 2013.

[6] "Addisleigh Park | HDC". Hdc.org. 31 August 2012.

[7] "A self-guided jazz tour through Queens". Qchron.com. 30 January 2014.

[8] [1] ^{[dead link]}

[broadway-9] Bloom, Ken (2003). Broadway: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0203644355. Retrieved 16 April 2023 – via Google Books.

[10] "Katherine Henderson accompanied by Clarence Williams and his Orchestra". Redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-13.

[11] Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.

[12] Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots by Rick Kennedy, 2013, ISBN 978-0-253-00747-6, p. 87

[13] Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.

[14] Lockhart, John M. "Words & Music", The Riverside Reader Archived 2012-12-14 at the Wayback Machine, February 4, 2008, p. 5

[15] Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.

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-'''Clarence Williams''' (October 6, 1898<ref name=ibdb>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=4857 |title=Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] ([[The Broadway League]]) |access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-date=June 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601221022/http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=4857 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=aar>{{cite web |url=http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/clarence-williams-entrepreneur-and-jazz-and-blues-artist |title=Clarence Williams, Entrepreneur and Jazz and Blues Artist |publisher=African American Registry | access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010235519/http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/clarence-williams-entrepreneur-and-jazz-and-blues-artist |archive-date=October 10, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> or October 8, 1893<ref name=williams /> – November 6, 1965)<ref name=ibdb /><ref name=aar /><ref name=williams /> was an American [[jazz]] pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, [[theatrical producer]], and publisher.
+'''Clarence Williams''' (October 8, 1898<ref name=ibdb>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=4857 |title=Clarence Williams: Composer, Producer, Director, Performer, Writer, Lyricist, Musical Director |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] ([[The Broadway League]]) |access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-date=June 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601221022/http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=4857 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=aar>{{cite web |url=http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/clarence-williams-entrepreneur-and-jazz-and-blues-artist |title=Clarence Williams, Entrepreneur and Jazz and Blues Artist |publisher=African American Registry | access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010235519/http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/clarence-williams-entrepreneur-and-jazz-and-blues-artist |archive-date=October 10, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> or October 6, 1893<ref name=williams /> – November 6, 1965)<ref name=ibdb /><ref name=aar /><ref name=williams /> was an American [[jazz]] pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, [[theatrical producer]], and publisher.
 ==Biography==
 Williams was born in [[Plaquemine, Louisiana]], to Dennis, a bassist, and Sally Williams, and ran away from home at age 12 to join [[Billy Kersands]]' Traveling [[Minstrel Show]], then moved to [[New Orleans]]. At first, Williams worked shining shoes and doing odd jobs, but soon became known as a singer and master of ceremonies. By the early 1910s, he was a well-regarded local entertainer also playing piano, and was composing new tunes by 1913. Williams was a good businessman and worked arranging and managing entertainment at the local [[African American]] [[vaudeville]] theater as well as at various saloons and dance halls around [[Rampart Street]], and at clubs and houses in [[Storyville, New Orleans|Storyville]].<ref name=williams>{{cite web |title=Clarence Williams Biography |url=http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/exhibits/bio/C286 |publisher=[[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222123/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/exhibits/bio/C286 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 2, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=clarence>{{cite web |title=The Music of Clarence Williams |url=http://www.basinstreet.com/articles/clarence.htm |publisher=Basin Street |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017004135/http://www.basinstreet.com/articles/clarence.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 2, 2014 }}</ref>
-Williams started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader [[Armand J. Piron]] in 1915, which by the 1920s was the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country. He toured briefly with [[W. C. Handy]], set up a publishing office in Chicago, then settled in New York in the early 1920s. In 1921, he married [[blues]] singer and stage actress [[Eva Taylor]], with whom he would frequently perform.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence /> They moved to [[Jamaica, Queens|Queens]] in the 1920s with the intention of creating a community of black artists. He envisioned a space where African American artists could live, work, and collaborate together, free from the racial discrimination and segregation that was prevalent in other parts of the city at the time.<ref>https://untappedcities.com/2013/12/12/fun-maps-the-queens-jazz-trail-by-ephemera-press/</ref>
+Williams started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader [[Armand J. Piron]] in 1915, which by the 1920s was the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country. He toured briefly with [[W. C. Handy]], set up a publishing office in Chicago, then settled in New York in the early 1920s. In 1921, he married [[blues]] singer and stage actress [[Eva Taylor]], with whom he would frequently perform.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence /> They moved to [[Jamaica, Queens|Queens]] in the 1920s with the intention of creating a community of black artists. He envisioned a space where African American artists could live, work, and collaborate together, free from the racial discrimination and segregation that was prevalent in other parts of the city at the time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://untappedcities.com/2013/12/12/fun-maps-the-queens-jazz-trail-by-ephemera-press/ | title=Fun Maps: The Queens Jazz Trail by Ephemera Press|website=Untappedcities.com | date=12 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://hdc.org/hdc-across-nyc/queens/queens-landmarked/addisleigh-park/ | title=Addisleigh Park &#124; HDC|website=Hdc.org | date=31 August 2012 }}</ref>
+Williams and his wife, Eva Taylor, purchased a large house on Ruscoe Street (108th Ave near [[St. Albans, Queens#Addisleigh Park subsection|Addisleigh Park]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/a-self-guided-jazz-tour-through-queens/article_db2caed1-ad31-5643-a3da-d5de449ed500.html | title=A self-guided jazz tour through Queens|website=Qchron.com| date=30 January 2014}}</ref> and turned it into a gathering place for black artists, musicians, and intellectuals. They hosted regular parties and events, which attracted many notable figures from the Harlem Renaissance, including [[Langston Hughes]], [[Zora Neale Hurston]], and [[Duke Ellington]].<ref>[https://s3.amazhttps://hdc.org/hdc-across-nyc/queens/queens-landmarked/addisleigh-park/onaws.com/images.icompendium.com/sites/spaceal1/sup/2992181-Essay-by-Kwami-Coleman.pdf] {{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref>
-Williams and his wife, Eva Taylor, purchased a large house on Ruscoe Street (108th Ave near [[St._Albans,_Queens#Addisleigh_Park_subsection|Addisleigh Park]])<ref>https://www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/a-self-guided-jazz-tour-through-queens/article_db2caed1-ad31-5643-a3da-d5de449ed500.html</ref> and turned it into a gathering place for black artists, musicians, and intellectuals. They hosted regular parties and events, which attracted many notable figures from the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Duke Ellington.<ref>https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.icompendium.com/sites/spaceal1/sup/2992181-Essay-by-Kwami-Coleman.pdf</ref>
 ==Harlem Renaissance==
+He was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. He supervised African American recordings (the 8000 [[race record|race]] series) for the New York offices of [[Okeh]] phonograph company in the 1920s in the [[Gaiety Theatre (New York)|Gaiety Theatre office building]] in [[Times Square]].<ref name="broadway">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqi3d1925IcC&dq=City+Investing+Five+Broadway+Theatres&pg=PA182|title=Broadway: An Encyclopedia|first=Ken|last=Bloom|year= 2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0203644355 |accessdate=16 April 2023|via=Google Books}}</ref> He recruited many of the artists who performed on the label. He also recorded extensively, leading studio bands frequently for OKeh, [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] and occasionally other record labels.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
+He mostly used "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his [[washboard (musical instrument)|washboard]] sides. He also produced and participated in early recordings by [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Sidney Bechet]], [[Bessie Smith]], [[Virginia Liston]], [[Irene Scruggs]], his niece [[Katherine Henderson (singer)|Katherine Henderson]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/khendersoncwo.html |title=Katherine Henderson accompanied by Clarence Williams and his Orchestra |publisher=Redhotjazz.com |access-date=2014-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051003/http://www.redhotjazz.com/khendersoncwo.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and others. Two of his 1924 recording bands, "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" and "Clarence Williams' Blue Five" featured cornetist Armstrong and soprano saxophonist Bechet, two of the most important early jazz soloists, in their only recordings together before the 1940s. Clarence Williams' Blue Five, a studio band only, formed after the success of King Oliver's recordings in order to explore the market for blues-oriented music.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York, NY|pages=155}}</ref> The rivalry between Armstrong and Bechet, who tried to outdo each other with successive solo breaks, is exemplified in "Cake Walkin' Babies from Home", the most celebrated of these performances, which survives in versions recorded by both bands.<ref>''Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots'' by Rick Kennedy, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0-253-00747-6}}, p. 87</ref> Although the narrative of a rivalry during these recordings is frequently discussed in scholarship, Armstrong and Bechet do have moments of friendly collaboration, such as the shared break in "Texas Moaner Blues."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York|pages=156}}</ref> [[King Oliver]] played cornet on a number of Williams's late 1920s recordings. He was the recording director for the short-lived [[QRS Records]] label in 1928.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
-He was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. He supervised African American recordings (the 8000 [[race record|race]] series) for the New York offices of [[Okeh]] phonograph company in the 1920s in the [[Gaiety Theatre (New York)|Gaiety Theatre office building]] in [[Times Square]].<ref name="broadway">[https://books.google.com/books?id=rqi3d1925IcC&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180&dq=City+Investing+Five+Broadway+Theatres&source=web&ots=cb0fXOCrZJ&sig=YIuX8kAb4vqkGlkjhoMubP4HDuA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA182,M1 Broadway: An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom – Routledge; 2 edition (November 11, 2003)] {{ISBN|0-415-93704-3}}</ref> He recruited many of the artists who performed on the label. He also recorded extensively, leading studio bands frequently for OKeh, [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] and occasionally other record labels.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
-He mostly used "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his [[washboard (musical instrument)|washboard]] sides. He also produced and participated in early recordings by [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Sidney Bechet]], [[Bessie Smith]], [[Virginia Liston]], [[Irene Scruggs]], his niece [[Katherine Henderson]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/khendersoncwo.html |title=Katherine Henderson accompanied by Clarence Williams and his Orchestra |publisher=Redhotjazz.com |access-date=2014-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051003/http://www.redhotjazz.com/khendersoncwo.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and others. Two of his 1924 recording bands, "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" and "Clarence Williams' Blue Five" featured cornetist Armstrong and soprano saxophonist Bechet, two of the most important early jazz soloists, in their only recordings together before the 1940s. Clarence Williams' Blue Five, a studio band only, formed after the success of King Oliver's recordings in order to explore the market for blues-oriented music.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York, NY|pages=155}}</ref> The rivalry between Armstrong and Bechet, who tried to outdo each other with successive solo breaks, is exemplified in "Cake Walkin' Babies from Home", the most celebrated of these performances, which survives in versions recorded by both bands.<ref>Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots by Rick Kennedy, 1/18/2013, {{ISBN|978-0-253-00747-6}}, p. 87</ref> Although the narrative of a rivalry during these recordings is frequently discussed in scholarship, Armstrong and Bechet do have moments of friendly collaboration, such as the shared break in "Texas Moaner Blues."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York, NY|pages=156}}</ref> [[King Oliver]] played cornet on a number of Williams's late 1920s recordings. He was the recording director for the short-lived [[QRS Records]] label in 1928.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
 [[File:ICanBeatYouDoingXV.jpg|thumb|"I Can Beat You Doing What You're Doing Me"  by Clarence Williams and [[Armand J. Piron]], 1915 sheet music cover ]]
-Most of his recordings were songs from his publishing house, which explains why he recorded tunes like "[[Baby Won't You Please Come Home]]", "Close Fit Blues" and "Papa De-Da-Da" numerous times.<ref>Lockhart, John M. "Words & Music", ''[http://www.riversidereader.com/ The Riverside Reader]'', February 4, 2008, p. 5</ref> Among his own compositions was "Shout, Sister, Shout" (1929), which was recorded by him, and also covered by [[the Boswell Sisters]], in 1931.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
+Most of his recordings were songs from his publishing house, which explains why he recorded tunes like "[[Baby Won't You Please Come Home]]", "Close Fit Blues" and "Papa De-Da-Da" numerous times.<ref>Lockhart, John M. "Words & Music", ''[http://www.riversidereader.com/ The Riverside Reader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214003324/http://www.riversidereader.com/ |date=2012-12-14 }}'', February 4, 2008, p. 5</ref> Among his own compositions was "Shout, Sister, Shout" (1929), which was recorded by him, and also covered by [[the Boswell Sisters]], in 1931.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
 ==Labels==
-In 1933, he signed to the [[Vocalion]] label and the recordeings mostly featuring washboard percussion, through 1935 (and a session in 1938).<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence /> He also recorded for [[Bluebird Records|Bluebird]] in 1937, and again in 1941.
+In 1933, he signed to the [[Vocalion]] label and the recordings mostly featuring washboard percussion, through 1935 (and a session in 1938).<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence /> He also recorded for [[Bluebird Records|Bluebird]] in 1937, and again in 1941.
 In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to [[Decca Records]] for $50,000 and retired, but then bought a bargain used-goods store, the Harlem Thrift Shop. Williams died in [[Queens]], New York City, in 1965, and was interred in [[Saint Charles Cemetery]] in [[Farmingdale, New York|Farmingdale]] on [[Long Island]]. On her death in 1977, his wife, Eva Taylor, was interred next to him.<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
@@ Line 46: / Line 47: @@
 Clarence Williams' grandson is actor [[Clarence Williams III]].<ref name=ibdb />
-==Work and influence==
+==Work==
 Clarence Williams' name appears as composer or co-composer on numerous tunes, including a number which by Williams' own admission were written by others but which Williams bought all rights to outright, as was a common practice in the music publishing business at the time. Clarence Williams was also credited as the author of [[Hank Williams]]' 1949 hit "[[My Bucket's Got a Hole in It]]", a song that was later recorded by Louis Armstrong. In 1970, Williams was posthumously inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]].<ref name=williams /><ref name=clarence />
@@ Line 78: / Line 79: @@
 * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103691 Clarence Williams recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
 * [https://archive.org/services/playset.php?ids=78_squeeze-me_clarence-williams-blue-five-eva-taylor-clarence-williams-thomas-waller_gbia0039688a,78_everybody-loves-my-baby-but-my-baby-dont-love-nobody-but-me_clarence-williams-b_gbia0100514a,78_wild-cat-blues_clarence-williams-blue-five-clarence-williams-thomas-wiley_gbia0043801b,78_kansas-city-man-blues_clarence-williams-blue-five-clarence-williams-clarence-johns_gbia0043801a,78_uncle-sammy-here-i-am_clarence-williams-blue-five-eva-taylor-clarence-willaims-mil_gbia0039186a,78_oh-daddy-blues_eva-taylor-and-clarence-williams-clarence-williams-blue-five-clare_gbia0077480b,78_ive-got-the-yes-we-have-no-banana-blues_eva-taylor-clarence-williams-blue-five-l_gbia0077480a,78_of-all-the-wrongs-you-done-to-me_clarence-williams-blue-five-eva-taylor-len-payton_gbia0100514b,78_mandy-make-up-your-mind_clarence-williams-blue-five-clarke-turk-meyer-johnston-lou_gbia0039686a,78_cake-walkin-babies_louis-armstrong-clarence-williams-blue-five-sidney-bechet-clare_gbia0093330a,78_im-a-little-blackbird-looking-for-a-bluebird_clarence-williams-blue-five-louis-ar_gbia0068401a,78_mandy-make-up-your-mind_clarence-williams-blue-five-louis-armstrong-eva-taylor-ch_gbia0068401b,78_im-a-little-blackbird_clarence-williams-blue-five-clarke-turk-meyer-johnston-loui_gbia0039686b Clarence Williams jukebox on Internet Archive ]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100107025236/http://www.redhotjazz.com/williams.html Clarence Williams on RedHotJazz.com; biography with photos and ram files of vintage recordings]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100107025236/http://www.redhotjazz.com/williams.html Clarence Williams on RedHotJazz.com; biography with photos and ram files of vintage recordings]
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040408160023/http://bluesnet.hub.org/readings/clarence.williams.html Clarence Williams by Tom Morgan]
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071220024431/http://www.jass.com/Others/cwm.html Clarence Williams at Jass.com]
+* {{FAG}}
 * {{Discogs artist|Clarence Williams}}
@@ Line 108: / Line 110: @@
 [[Category:Singers from Louisiana]]
 [[Category:20th-century American composers]]
-[[Category:American male pianists]]
 [[Category:American male jazz composers]]
 [[Category:American jazz composers]]
@@ Line 114: / Line 115: @@
 [[Category:African-American Catholics]]
 [[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]]
+[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
+[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
+[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]

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