Jody Williams, one of the hottest and most creative guitarists in Chicago during the 1950s, put his guitar down in disgust with the music business in the ’60s. His return to action some three decades later showed him still in command of his formidable skills and also brought him the realization that his recorded legacy had made him a hero to a new generation of blues fans.
Joseph Leon Williams was born in Mobile, Alabama, on February 3, 1935, and moved to Chicago as a youngster. He joined schoolmate Bo Diddley to play the streets as a teenager and within a few years had honed his chops enough to become a valued session musician at Chess Records and other labels. His crisp fretwork enlivened such classic records as ‘Who Do You Love’ by Bo Diddley, ‘I Wish You Would’ by Billy Boy Arnold, and ‘Evil’ and ‘Forty Four’ by Howlin’ Wolf. He also accompanied Willie Dixon, Jimmy Witherspoon, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Rogers among others.
Williams also worked regularly in the Chicago clubs and toured with big package shows backing blues, rock ‘n roll, and doo-wop acts. The handful of early sessions on his own produced the influential instrumental ‘Lucky Lou,’ the model for Otis Rush’s ‘All Your Love’ and later the Fleetwood Mac and Santana classic ‘Black Magic Woman.’ Another instrumental, ‘Moanin’ for Molasses,’ was later covered by Sean Costello, and ‘Billy’s Blues,’ recorded with Billy Stewart, was lifted for the Mickey & Sylvia smash ‘Love is Strange’ in a case that went to court for copyright infringement. Williams ended up with neither a composer credit nor royalties for ‘Love is Strange,’ and remained wary of playing his original uncopyrighted music for anyone to this day. After a few more years of working the clubs, he married and learned electronics to find a suitable job to support his family. He worked for years as a technician for Xerox and as an ATM machine serviceman until longtime fan and producer Dick Shurman convinced him to bring out his guitar again. Williams began recording anew in 2002 and toured widely to warm receptions around the world.
Jody Williams passed away in December 2018.