Music
Andre Williams
1936–2019 · singer, songwriter, producer
R&B showman who started at Detroit's Fortune Records with "Bacon Fat" (1957) and co-wrote "Shake a Tail Feather".
- Born
Bessemer, Alabama- Died
Chicago, Illinois
aged 82- Birth name
- Zephire Andre Williams
- Also known as
- Mr. Rhythm
- Detroit years
- early 1950s–1960s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Williams left Alabama at about 16 for Detroit, where he befriended Jack and Devora Brown, owners of Fortune Records, and became a labelmate of Nolan Strong and Nathaniel Mayer. In 1955 he became lead singer of the Five Dollars; his half-spoken "Bacon Fat", leased by Fortune to Epic, reached No. 9 R&B in 1957, and "Jail Bait" and "The Greasy Chicken" followed. In the early 1960s he co-wrote Stevie Wonder's first song, "Thank You for Loving Me", supervised two albums by the Contours and co-wrote "Shake a Tail Feather", a hit for the Five Du-Tones and later Ike & Tina Turner. He managed and road-managed Edwin Starr and recorded for Detroit's Wingate and Ric-Tic labels before moving to Chess, where "Cadillac Jack" (1968) charted. After hard years in Chicago he returned in the 1990s as a garage-soul favorite, recording with Detroit's Dirtbombs among others.
Highlights
- "Bacon Fat" (1957) on Fortune: R&B No. 9
- Co-wrote "Shake a Tail Feather"
- Co-wrote Stevie Wonder's first song, "Thank You for Loving Me"
- Recorded for Detroit's Wingate and Ric-Tic labels
- Comeback albums with the Dirtbombs and others (2000s)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1955–early 1960s
Fortune Records studio and shop
Demolished · 1956–2001
He recorded "Bacon Fat" and his other 1950s sides for Fortune; the Third Avenue studio-and-shop was demolished in 2001.