Williams, Andre
"Andre Williams makes Little Richard sound like Pat Boone"…Lux Interior
Andre "Mr. Rhythm" Williams was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1936. He started singing in 1952 with a church choir in Chicago, Illinois. The Williams family then moved to Detroit, Michigan where Andre began his recording career with Fortune Records. Andre recorded over 50 songs for Fortune including: Bacon Fat, JailBait, Pass The Biscuits and The Greasy Chicken.
Andre began recording under various pseudonyms such as The Five Dollars and the Don Juans. He became known as a record producer and songwriter, composing such tunes as: Shake A Tailfeather, Cadillac Jack, Funky Judge and Twine Time. He was hired and fired as staff producer and A&R man numerous times by Barry Gordy at Motown. Mr. Rhythm (as he was nick named by Redd Foxx) produced records for Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, The Dramatics, The Chi-Lites, Ike & Tina Turner, and even penned material for George Clinton’s Funkadelic!
Andre was always a wild man with the ladies and never said no to a party and by the 1980’s Andre Williams found himself down and out – living on the streets and at the end of a crack pipe. In 1996 Andre bounced back in a big way – he cleaned up his act and began making music again. His comeback album, "Greasy", was recorded for the St. George and Norton labels which put him back on the live performing circuit and back in the conscious of the music buying public. In 1998 Andre released his sleaze-rock masterpiece, "Silky", on In The Red Records which proved to be a commercial and critical smash for Andre. Since the release of "Silky", Andre has toured the US and Europe numerous times and his following has grown larger and larger. He toured a number of times with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion who wound up recording with Andre as well as crediting him executive producer on their "Acme" album.
In 1999 he recorded a country album for the Bloodshot label backed by The Sadies as well as working furiously on his latest manifesto of macho energy, "The Black Godfather" which finds Andre taking his raunchy rock n’ R&B stylings to new extremes. Joining him on this album is a cast of rock n’ roll luminaries that even the most jaded music fan will find impressive: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Countdowns, Mick Collins’ Dirtbombs, The Compulsive Gamblers (formerly know to y’all as the Oblivians), Cheater Slicks and some truly inspired saxophone wailing from Steve Mackay (sax player on The Stooges legendary "Funhouse"). "Silky" producer and former Gorie Mick Collins handled production chores on "The Black Godfather". This record is as good as it gets and so is Andre Williams. Lord have mercy!
"He’s about the baddest motherfucker I know." Rudy Ray Moore (aka Dolemite
