Born in Cordele, Georgia in 1918, Joe Williams was essentially raised by his mother and grandmother in Chicago. His first musical performances came as a teenager singing in churches in gospel group the Jubilee Boys, going on to work as a singer and a bouncer in Chicago clubs. His rich, tuneful baritone voice soon attracted wider attention, leading him to launch his solo career in 1937, occasionally performing with big bands led by Jimmy Noone and Les Hite. He went on to tour with Coleman Hawkins, Lionel Hampton, Red Saunders and Andy Kirk.
His major breakthrough occurred when - at the age of 35 - he was heard by the great bandleader Count Basie, who invited him to join his orchestra to replace long-time singer Jimmy Rushing. In eight years with the Basie orchestra between 1954 and 1962, Williams established his reputation as one of the all-time greats of jazz, while his performance of 'Every Day I Have the Blues' in 1955 helped restore the Basie band as a major force. Other great tracks associated with Williams during the Basie years include 'Alright, Okay, You Win', 'Going to Chicago' and 'The Comeback'.
While continuing to make occasional guest appearances with Basie, Williams then concentrated on building a successful solo career, touring and recording with a variety of musicians, ranging from Junior Mance to George Shearing and Cannonball Adderley. Working regularly in Las Vegas, he also had a parallel career as an actor, appearing in the 1970 movie 'The Moonshine War' and various TV programmes including 'The Cosby Show', 'Lou Grant' and 'Sesame Street'. He continued to perform in Las Vegas almost to his death there in 1999 at the age of 80.
