Jody Williams

Joseph Leon "Jody" Williams (February 3, 1935 – December 1, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer. His singular guitar playing, marked by flamboyant string-bending, imaginative chord voicings and a distinctive tone, was influential in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.

In the mid-1950s, Williams was one of the most sought-after session guitarists in Chicago, but he was little known outside the music industry, since his name rarely appeared on discs. His acclaimed comeback in 2000 led to a resurgence of interest in his early work and a reappraisal as one of the great blues guitarists. Williams was known for his imaginative chord selection, characterized by raised fives, and minor sixths and minor sevenths with flattened fives. He usually played with an unusual open E tuning, originally taught to him by Bo Diddley.

Early life Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams moved to Chicago at the age of five. His first instrument was the harmonica, which he swapped for the guitar after hearing Bo Diddley play at a talent show where they were both performing. Diddley, seven years his senior, took Williams under his wing and taught him the rudiments of guitar.

Career Chicago heyday By 1951, Williams and Diddley were playing on the street together, with Williams providing backing to Diddley's vocals, accompanied by Roosevelt Jackson on washtub bass. Williams cut his teeth gigging with a string of blues musicians, notably Memphis Minnie, Elmore James, and Otis Spann. After touring with the West Coast blues piano player Charles Brown, Other noteworthy session work from the 1950s include lead guitar parts on Billy Boy Arnold's "I Ain't Got You" and "I Wish You Would", Jimmy Rogers's "One Kiss", Jimmy Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business", and Otis Rush's "Three Times a Fool".

In 1957, Williams released "You May" on Argo Records, with the inventive B-side instrumental "Lucky Lou", the extraordinary opening riff of which Otis Rush copied on his 1958 Cobra Records side "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)". In the early 1960s, Williams was making a living gigging with his Big 3 Trio (not to be confused with Willie Dixon's group of the same name), but by the end of the decade, he had retired from the music industry altogether. In March 2000, he went to a performance by his old friend Robert Lockwood Jr., and grew nostalgic for his music days. Back at home, an old tape of himself playing moved him to tears and inspired him to pick up his guitar again.

Williams continued to perform around the world until 2014, mainly at large blues festivals, and often sitting in with the blues guitarist Billy Flynn at Chicago club appearances. Poor health later curtailed his musical activities.

Death William's final days were in a nursing home in Indiana, where he died from cancer on December 1, 2018.

Discography Singles 1956 – "Looking For My Baby" / "Easy Lovin'" (Blue Lake 116) (as Little Papa Joe) 1957 – "You May" / "Lucky Lou" (i) (Argo 5274) (as Little Joe Lee) 1962 – "Lonely Without You" / "Moanin' For Molasses" (i) (Nike 1013) 1963 – "Hideout" (i) / "Moanin' For Molasses" (i) (Smash S-1801) 1963 – "Time For A Change" / "Lonely Without You" (Jive J-1004) 1964 – "Time For A Change" / "Lonely Without You" (Yulando R-133-8665)

Albums 2002 – Return of a Legend (Evidence ECD 26120) 2004 – You Left Me In the Dark (Evidence ECD 26130) 2018 – In Session: Diary of a Chicago Bluesman 1954–1962 (Jasmine JASMCD 3100)

Appearances as guitarist

1954 – Howlin' Wolf, "Evil Is Going On" / "Baby How Long" (Chess 1575) 1954 – Howlin' Wolf, "Forty Four" / "I'll Be Around" (Chess 1584) 1954 – Otis Spann, "It Must Have Been The Devil" / "Five Spot" (Checker 807) 1955 – Howlin' Wolf, "Who Will Be Next" / "I Have A Little Girl" (Chess 1593) 1955 – Howlin' Wolf, "Come To Me Baby" / "Don't Mess With My Baby" (Chess 1607) 1955 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, "Don't Start Me Talkin'" / "All My Love In Vain" (Checker 824) 1955 – Billy Boy Arnold, "I Was Fooled" / "I Wish You Would" (Vee-Jay VJ 146) 1955 – Earl Phillips, "Oop De Oop" / "Nothing But Love" (Vee-Jay VJ 158) 1955 – Bo Diddley, "Diddy Wah Diddy" / "I'm Looking For A Woman" (Checker 832) 1956 – Billy Boy Arnold, "Don't Stay Out All Night" / "I Ain't Got You" (Vee-Jay VJ 171) 1956 – Lu Mac, "Albert Is His Name" / "I'll Never Let Him Know" (Blue Lake 117) 1956 – Bo Diddley, "Who Do You Love?" / "I'm Bad" (Checker 842) 1956 – Floyd Dixon, "Alarm Clock Blues" / "I'm Ashamed Of Myself" (Checker 857) 1956 – Bobby Charles, "Why Did You Leave" / "Don't You Know I Love You" (Chess 1617) 1956 – Billy Stewart, "Billy's Blues (Part 1)" / "Billy's Blues (Part 2)" (Chess 1625; Argo 5256) 1956 – Billy Boy Arnold, "Here's My Picture" / "You Got Me Wrong" (Vee-Jay VJ 192) 1956 – Buddy Morrow, "Rib Joint" / "Rosie's Room" (Mercury 71024) 1957 – Jimmy Rogers, "One Kiss" / "I Can't Believe" (Chess 1659) 1957 – Otis Rush, "Groaning The Blues" / "If You Were Mine" (Cobra 5010) 1957 – Harold Burrage, "Messed Up" / "I Don't Care Who Knows" (Cobra 5012) 1958 – Howlin' Wolf, "I Didn't Know" / "Moanin' For My Baby" (Chess 1695) 1958 – Otis Rush, "Three Times A Fool" / "She's A Good 'Un" (Cobra 5023) 1959 – Bo Diddley, "Dancing Girl" (on Have Guitar Will Travel: Checker LP 2974) 1960 – Bobby Davis, "I Was Wrong" / "Hype You Into Sellin' (Your Head)" (Bandera 2505) 1961 – Bobby Davis and the Big '3' Trio, "One Love Have I" / "She's A Problem" (Bandera 2508) 1964 – Billy Boy Arnold, "I Wish You Would" / "Prisoner's Plea" (Vivid 109) reissues 2007 – The Mannish Boys, "Groan My Blues Away", "Young & Tender" (on Big Plans: Delta Groove DGPCD 116)

Tracks issued later than their recording date

1967 – Howlin' Wolf, More Real Folk Blues (Chess; recorded 1953–1956 [rel. 1967]) 1976 – J. T. Brown, "Lonely (As a Man Can Be)", "Going Home to My Baby", "It's a Shame to Tell the People", "When I Was a Lad", "Use That Spot" (on Windy City Boogie: Pearl PL-9; recorded 1956) 1979 – Harold Burrage, "I Love My Baby" (on Rockin' Wild: P-Vine PLP-9021; recorded 1957) 1982 – Willie Dixon, "Firey Love" (on Blues Roots Series, Vol. 12: Chess LP 6.24802AG; recorded 1957) 1989 – Jody Williams, "Moaning Blues (Groan My Blues Away)", "What a Fool I've Been (I Feel So All Alone)" (on Cool Playing Blues: Relic LP 8025, CD 7016; recorded 12/55) 1990 – Jimmy Witherspoon, "Congratulations", "Ain't Nobody's Business" (on Spoon So Easy: Chess CH-93003; recorded 1956) 1991 – Jody Williams, "What Kind of Gal Is That (What Kind of Girl Is This)" (on The Blues Volume 6: 50's Rarities, Chess/MCA CHD-9330; recorded 1957) 1995 – Willie Dixon, "All the Time" (on The Original Wang Dang Doodle, Chess/MCA CHD-9353; recorded 1957) 1996 – Bobby Charles, "Watch It, Sprocket", "Hey Good Lookin'" (on Chess Masters: MCA/Victor MVCM-22078; recorded 1956)