<back - LARRY WILLIAMS - What a magnificent--albeit woefully short---18 months they would be, as a dynamic revolutionary sound seemed to be reaching toward the stars by the summertime of 1957. But by the fall of 1958 it all began ebbing away like the full moon, torn asunder by unseen forces lurking behind the scenes. It was the peak of the Rock n' Roll era, and for a breathless moment it seemed that everywhere you ventured, the radio airwaves were filled with infectious teenage anthems rendered by icons like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Ricky Nelson. But there was one other trailblazer that history has inexplicably assigned to its amnesia file, and that cat is Larry Williams.

Starting with Short Fat Fannie and Bony Moronie, and later continuing with Bad Boy and Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Larry Williams burned up the Billboard charts. During that special time, while also filling up dance floors, but most importantly, by achieving levels of full-tilt energy on a par with that realized by the above anointed Fathers of Rock ‘n Roll. Larry Williams was born 1935 in New Orleans, moved to San Francisco at ten, and by 1954 was touring as the piano player behind Lloyd Price (Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Stagger Lee). Price, upon returning from a stint in the army in 1956, decided to refocus his career by shifting to a more middle-of-the-road direction. Williams had a massive hit with Short Fat Fannie, recorded April 1957 and reaching #5 on the Billboard charts in August. Full of spunk and grit, and featuring sputtering sax, references to other hits, and topped off with extra-scintillating vocals, it fit the times like white on rice. By Christmas, Williams was featured at New York’s Paramount Theatre as part of an Alan Freed R&R extravaganza, along with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Then Williams knocked off another chart buster, a wild hip shaker, Boney Moronie. By early 1958, however, the hits were getting harder to come by; but ironically, four lads from Liverpool would decree that those remaining releases of 1958 would prove the most enduring ones of Williams’ career. They must have been paying close attention to what Larry Williams was putting down, because when The Beatles broke huge in 1964 they quickly covered those 1958 sides of Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Bad Boy, and Slow Down.  Larry’s performance of She Said Yeah was no less inspirational, serving as the blueprint for the Rolling Stones version in 1965. After a couple of sides on Chess, Williams worked as a producer at Okeh before hooking up with Johnny 'Guitar' Watson for a series of tours and records. They had a modest hit (Okeh 1967) with a vocal version of Cannonball Adderley’s 'Mercy Mercy Mercy'. Larry’s final release was an album issued on Fantasy in 1979. On January 2, 1980 Larry Williams was found dead from a gunshot wound outside his Laurel Canyon CA. home. -GaryTate   MP3 - Slow Down | Boney Moronie |