ANDRE WILLIAMS
Hustler, producer, singer, songwriter, raconteur, bon vivant, and most recently author, Andre Williams is nothing short of a legend. Beginning with his greasy R&B hits “Bacon Fat” and “Jail Bait” for Detroit’s Fortune records in 1957, Andre was well on his way to earning the nickname the “Black Godfather.” Throughout the ’60s and into the ’70s, Andre penned songs for Stevie Wonder, Ike and Tina Turner, and Funkadelic, and continued to release songs about (among other pleasures) soul food and illicit sex; greasy platters like “Sweet Little Pussy Cat” and “Rib Tips, Pts. 1 & 2″that would become the essential elements of a catalog known for its decidedly down-low take on R&B. The ’80s saw hard times for Andre — drugs and booze crippled his career, and the man who had gone on to write hits like “Shake a Tailfeather” and produce and record for Chess and Motown was written off for dead. A small yet forcefully dedicated legion of fans helped push Andre back into the spotlight, and in 1996 he released Mr. Rhythm. This was the first step towards a comeback that would see him become the darling of the raunch’n’roll punk-blues set two years later with the release of Silky,a recording so sleazy that it bordered on the avant-garde, and quickly earned him a new rush of cult followers. In 1999, he recorded his first outing with the Sadies, Red Dirt, a working relationship that has endured dizzying tours, jail time, and of course, Andre’s irascible (to put it politely) behavior. Their new record,Night and Day, is the most recent culmination of their creative prowess and mutual trust, and another jewel in the crown of this 75-year-old singer.
