From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri May 10, 2002  2:01 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Larry Williams
 
LARRY WILLIAMS

Born Lawrence E. Williams, 10 May 1935, New Orleans, Louisiana
Died 2 January 1980, Los Angeles, California

Rock 'n' roll / R&B vocalist, pianist, songwriter.
"Larry Williams didn't know whether he wanted to be a pimp or a
musician", his first producer, Bumps Blackwell, has been quoted as
saying. "If he had made up his mind, he would've been much bigger
than he was."
Born in New Orleans, Larry moved to Oakland, California, at the age
of ten, and later to San Francisco, where he joined a group called The
Lemon Drops. After returning to New Orleans, Williams was hired by
Lloyd Price as his pianist and personal valet. The arrangement was
short-lived, however, as Price was called up in 1954 to do his military
service. After working with Roy Brown and Percy Mayfield and driving
a limo for Fats Domino, Larry moved back to the West Coast, where
he was signed by Art Rupe's Specialty Records. His first record, early
in 1957, was a cover of Lloyd Price's "Just Because", which went to
# 11 R&B. This was followed by his biggest hit, "Short Fat Fannie"
(# 1 R&B, # 5 pop) and two other rock 'n' roll classics, "Bony Moronie"
(# 4 R&B, # 14 pop) and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (# 69 pop). More rockers
in the same style followed, with accompaniment from some of L.A.'s
top session men (Plas Johnson, Rene Hall, Earl Palmer), but without
chart success. In 1959 Rupe dropped Williams from the label, after he
was arrested on narcotics charges. It took until the summer of 1961,
however, before he was finally sentenced to 18 months in prison. In the
meantime he recorded for Chess. Soon after his release in 1963 he did
one session for Mercury and was then hired as a talent scout for the
Columbia subsidiary OKeh. In the mid-sixties he teamed up with Johnny
"Guitar" Watson with whom he toured the UK. During this tour they recorded
an LP for (British) Decca, "The Larry Williams Show". They also scored
minor hits with "Mercy Mercy Mercy" (1967) and "Nobody" (1968), both
on OKeh.
Williams led an opulent lifestyle, not entirely explained by the royalties
garnered from the Beatles' cover versions of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", "Slow
Down" and "Bad Boy". His main sources of income were prostitutes and
hard drugs. He was into dealing both cocaine and heroin, and so it comes
as little surprise to find that his death was a violent one. He was found dead
in his luxury house by his mother. Whether he was murdered or shot himself
has always remained unclear.
Luckily his music is his testament, not his lifestyle. His Specialty records
remain among the most exciting rock 'n' roll performances ever engraved
in wax grooves.

CD recommendation: Bad Boy Of Rock 'n' Roll (Ace 709).
24 Specialty tracks from 1957-1959.