Larry Williams
is one of the almost forgotten fathers of rock and roll. Williams, a pianist,
had a number of huge hits during the mid-Fifties as rock and roll was beginning
to dominate American popular music. Several of Williams’ songs would be
recorded by more famous bands and singers, and become forever associated with
them. The Beatles recorded Williams’ songs, “Slow Down,” “Bad Boy,” and “Dizzy
Miss Lizzy” during the earliest phase of their recording career.
Williams was
born in New Orleans , Louisiana , in 1935. He made his recording
debut in 1957 for Specialty Records with a ballad, “Just Because.” Williams’
forte, however, was up-tempo rockers, and he scored a hit later the same year
with the rocker, “Bonie Maronie.” A slew of hits would soon follow including,
“Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” Bad Boy,” and “Short Fat Fanny.”
Williams didn’t
enjoy much success after 1957, and he fell back into the underworld life of
drug-peddling that consumed much of his time prior to his music career. In the
mid-Sixties, he made a comeback with an R&B band which included guitarist
Johnny Guitar Watson, and he produced a couple of albums for his friend, Little
Richard.
This success
would not last as his drug addiction kept dragging him down. In 1977, he pulled
a gun on Little Richard and threatened to kill him over a drug debt. Shortly
thereafter, Williams was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head, in his Los Angeles home. His
death was officially deemed a suicide. He was 44-years-old at the time of his
demise.
Williams’ best
recordings are found on the albums, “Here’s Larry Williams” (1959), “The Larry
Williams Show (ft.
Johnny Guitar Watson)”
(1965), and “The Best of Larry Williams” (1988).
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