Andre Williams

Zephire Andre Williams (born November 1, 1936) is an American R&B musician who started his career in the 1950s at Fortune Records in Detroit. His most famous songs include the hits "Jail Bait," "Greasy Chicken," "Bacon Fat" (1957) and "Cadillac Jack" (1966). He is also the co-author of the R&B hit "Shake a Tail Feather".

Williams relaxed talking-style vocals on his mid-to-late 1950s singles are some of the earliest rap/hip-hop-style vocals on record.

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, United States, Williams lived in a housing project with his mother until she died when he was six years of age. A sly and smart young boy, his "aunties" raised him until he was around 16. He then set out on his own and moved to Detroit, Michigan. There, he became friends with Jack and Devora Brown, owners of Fortune Records which was located at the back of a barber shop. Williams would become label mates with Nolan Strong and Nathaniel Mayer.

He then became lead singer for The 5 Dollars in 1955, which already had a contract with Fortune Records. Though most of the songs were billed as 'Andre Williams and the Don Juans' (on Epic in 1956 billed as 'Andre Mr Rhythm Williams and his New Group'), "Bacon Fat" and "Jail Bait" were solo efforts. "Bacon Fat" hit #9 on the US Billboard R&B chart in 1957. "Bacon Fat" (written by Williams) was such a success that Fortune Records sold the song to Epic Records, a much larger distributor (released as Epic 5-9196 "Bacon Fat/Just because of a Kiss"). In 1960 Fortune released an album of all of his singles with the Don Juans, which was titled Jail Bait (re-released in 1986). In 1960, he appeared on Motown's Miracle Record label releasing "Rosa Lee".

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