Clarence Williams Quotes

Clarence Williams was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana. He was an American jazz pianist, composer, vocalist, theatrical producer, singer and publisher. At first Williams worked shining shoes and doing odd jobs, but soon became known as a singer and master of ceremonies. By the early 1910s he was a well regarded local entertainer also playing piano, and was composing new tunes by 1913. Williams started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader Armand J. Piron in 1915, which by the 1920s was the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country. He was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. In 1970, Williams was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.