The Jody Williams Story
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THE JODY WILLIAMS STORY Howlin’ Wolf, Jody Williams, Earl Phillips and Hubert Sumlin. Chicago circa mid 1950s. From the B&R Archives. Interview by Mike Stephenson y name is Joseph Leon Williams, that’s the styles because some of the people who were around also impressed me. People who I played with I’d pick up a little bit here and there because at that name my mother gave me. I’ve been called age I was trying to learn all I could. When I got started on guitar, Bo Diddley a little of everything over the years, but taught me how to tune the guitar to an open E. He taught me how to play the M bass background but his playing was limited, I wanted to learn more. I was Jody is a nickname. When I started recording, if hungry for knowledge on the guitar so I would hang around in the clubs and they had put Joe Williams on the record they might stuff like that. You could say I was getting on the job training. have confused me with the singer Joe Williams I started to come into contact with more and more people. I don’t recall how I got into the studio but I went to Chess Studios first around 1956. Willie Dixon who was with Count Basie! So people would have helped me. This is the guy who wrote many tunes, matter of fact he wrote the been buying his recordings thinking it was me and first tune that I recorded and he’s playing on it – ‘Lookin’ For My Baby’ (Blue Lake 116). Blue Lake was one of the labels that was owned by Al Benson who buying mine thinking it was him and that would was one of the big disc jockeys in the town. have been a lot of confusion – so that’s the reason On ‘Looking For My Baby’ I went under the name of Little Papa Joe. That name was given to me by Willie Dixon. That was because they didn’t want me for Jody. to get mixed up with anybody else. I don’t think everything was released at I was born in Mobile, Alabama; it’s in the south of the country, 3rd February, the time because I did ‘Groan My Blues Away' (unissued but later released on 1935. We migrated to Chicago when I was about five years old and that’s Relic 8025) and I think I played the slide on that one. I’ve not played the slide where I’ve been ever since. I went to school there and everything. I got one guitar since. I thought about reviving some of the stuff we did on the street brother and one sister and my father died at an early age. I went through corners with the guitars and the washtub. I reckon people would love that. school in Chicago, mainly on the South-Side, high school and grammar One of the first records I did for the Chess company was ‘Lucky Lou’ on their school. I had additional schooling when I was in the military. Argo label (Argo 5274). Back in those days a lot of record companies had the After we left Mobile and migrated to Chicago my mother would back me up payola thing. That’s where they would pay disc jockeys to play their records. on just about anything that I wanted to do. I don’t know how old I was when Now they couldn’t sit there and play Chess records all day long so what they I first got into music but I first picked up the harmonica because of some of did they played some Chess, they played some Checker and they played the idols that I enjoyed. There was a group called The Harmonicats, it was some Argo in between. Of course you had the small independent labels and a group of three or four and they played harmonicas in different parts. They the larger companies had more than one label. This way they could get more sounded beautiful. I guess I was about nine years old when I started playing of their artists on record. On the Argo label I went under the name of Little Joe but I didn’t play the blues. I used to play things like ‘Autumn Leaves’, standards Lee – I’ve never used that name, I don’t know where that name come from. like that. I wasn’t interested in blues. I played harmonica in school plays and Herald Records also issued ‘Five Long Years’ and I recorded 'Moanin’ For things like that. Molasses' and 'Lonely Without You' for Nike Records (Nike 1013). I did that I started doing some talent shows and amateur shows around town. I played when I came back from the service around 1962. I came back from Germany on the radio, can’t exactly remember what show it was. This was all on the in 1962. I did 'Hideout' for the same company (Smash 1801). They put that harmonica. I was playing on a talent show at a theatre in Chicago, The Willett stuff on three labels. One of them was Smash and the other was Jive Records. Theater on 51st and Calumet; this was when I met Bo Diddley. After being They were the same company and they may have leased some of that stuff around for a while I was listening to more records, listening to Lowell Fulson, out to Mercury for one of their subsidiaries. I’m not too sure about the Yulando T-Bone Walker, B.B. King. These are the people who impressed me. So I label, which released 'Time For A Change' and 'Lonely Without You' (Yulando started picking up their styles. As a matter of fact I played a number of different 8665). That would be around the mid 1960s. 22 >> B&R >> 184 Like I mentioned before, record companies had numerous labels and they would distribute the stuff on different labels so more people would buy it. Back in those years I had a group called the Big Three Trio which consisted of a drummer Bobby Davis and my bass player Bob Walton. But on some of these recordings I had four or five horns on there. That was on 'Moanin’ For Molasses' and 'Lonely Without You'. One of the saxophone players was called Bernard Barkson – I had saxes and trumpets on there. After I came back from the service I started the Big Three Trio and gradually added horns. I didn’t play with four or five horns every night. I would play with just four of us sometimes, with just one horn. Before I put my guitar under my bed we played a little bit of everything. I had some very good musicians, some of them were jazz musicians and they taught me a lot. RECORDING WITH WOLF When I was playing with the Howlin’ Wolf, well, I was like a studio musician for Chess Records. I would come in and hang out and I would record for so many people as I was capable of playing the stuff they were doing. I went down to the studio one day, this was around 1954. I remember that because Wolf had a large suburban Desotta, a dirty brown Desotta,(that was a Chrysler car they don’t make no more), it was sitting out in front of the recording studio. Chess had their own studios there that they had built behind their office. I went inside and there was Howlin’ Wolf. I didn’t know who he was until Leonard Chess introduced me to him. Wolf had just come in from the South. Leonard said “He’s staying in Chicago and he will be needing a band”. I was available and there was Earl Phillips, a drummer who worked off and on with us in the studio, so we got him. Wolf sent back down South and got Hubert Sumlin. So in the band there was Hubert and I and Earl Phillips and then we had a piano player, Hosea Kennard, he played with us for a while. There is one famous picture of us at the 07 Lake club and you see Hosea in the middle on the piano. Hubert nicknamed him Yak as he talked so much. We were together around 1954. There is a picture of us when we were playing at the Zanzibar. I don’t remember all the sides I recorded with Howlin' Wolf. I recall we did 'Evil Is Going On’, 'Forty Four' and 'Baby How Long' for Chess – that’s me and Hubert on there. 'I’ll Be Around' that’s me playing lead on there. (Recorded May and October, 1954). I also recorded 'Moaning For My Baby' and 'I Didn’t Know'. (Recorded, Howlin’ Wolf. From the B&R Archives. April, 1958). I was doing some things with other people even while I was with RECORDING FOR CHESS Wolf. I was with Wolf a little over a year or so and I was with Bo Diddley at I recorded with so many people when I was with Chess. I played with some the same time. of the Doo Wop groups. I don’t know who they were. One of them was called Things get a little foggy in the 1950s. When I left Howlin’ Wolf’s Band, Wolf the Daylighters. On the original recording of 'Moanin’ For Molasses' there’s was alright. The only problem I had was with the money. That’s why I left the a group called the Daylighters doing the harmony background.