Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "

I Ain't Got Nobody "I Ain't Got Nobody" (sometimes referred to as "I'm So Sad and Lonely" or "I Ain't Got Nobody Much") is a popular song copyrighted in 1915. Roger A. Graham (1885–1938) wrote the lyrics, Spencer Williams composed it, and Roger Graham Music Publi ...

", "

Royal Garden Blues "Royal Garden Blues" is a blues song composed by Clarence Williams and Spencer Williams in 1919. Popularized in jazz by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band,

", "

I've Found a New Baby "I've Found a New Baby", also known as "I Found a New Baby", is a popular song written by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams. It was introduced by Clarence Williams' Blue Five in 1926 and has since been recorded by many artists, making it a popular ...

", "

Everybody Loves My Baby "Everybody Loves My Baby", also known as "Everybody Loves My Baby, but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me", is a popular and jazz standard song composed by Spencer Williams in 1924. Lyrics were written by Jack Palmer. One important early recording ...

", "

Tishomingo Blues "Tishomingo Blues" is a song by Spencer Williams. The tune was first published in 1917. The title refers to Tishomingo, Mississippi. The song was first recorded in 1918 by Eddie Nelson on Emerson Records #913. It became a jazz standard, and ...

", and many others.

Biography

Spencer Williams was born in Vidalia,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, United States. He was educated at St. Charles University in New Orleans. Williams was performing in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

by 1907, and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

about 1916. After arriving in New York, he co-wrote several songs with Anton Lada of the

Louisiana Five The Louisiana Five was an early Dixieland jazz band that was active from 1917 to 1920. It was among the earliest jazz groups to record extensively. The Louisiana Five was led by drummer Anton Lada. History The Louisiana Five was formed in New Y ...

. Among those songs was " Basin Street Blues", which became one of his most popular songs and is still recorded by musicians to this day. Williams toured Europe with bands from 1925 to 1928; during this time he wrote for

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

at the

Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...

in Paris. Williams then returned to New York for a few years. At the end of the 1920s, Williams was tried but then acquitted on a charge of murder. In 1932, he moved to Europe, spending many years in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before moving to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1951. Williams was married to Pat Castleton (a stage name of Agnes Bage). They had two daughters together called Della and Lindy. His hit songs include " Basin Street Blues", "

", "

Royal Garden Blues "Royal Garden Blues" is a blues song composed by Clarence Williams and Spencer Williams in 1919. Popularized in jazz by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band,

", "Mahogany Hall Stomp", "

", "

", "Shimmy-Sha-Wobble", "Boodle Am Shake", "

", "Fireworks", "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll", "Arkansas Blues", plus the

dirty blues Dirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with socially taboo and obscene subjects, often referring to sexual acts and drug use. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on ...

standard "

Georgia Grind "Georgia Grind" is a jazz and dirty blues tune, written by Spencer Williams and copyrighted by him in 1926. The lyrics were added by Bud Allen. A recording was released by Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five by Okeh Records on a 78 rpm, mono 10" ...

", "Paradise Blues", "When Lights Are Low", and "My Man o' War". Williams returned to New York in 1957, before his death in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

on July 14, 1965. Williams was posthumously inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

in 1970.

References

External links

Spencer Williams recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

1889 births 1965 deaths American jazz composers American jazz pianists American male pianists Jazz musicians from New Orleans Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists {{US-jazz-pianist-stub