Andre Williams (November 1, 1936 Bessemer, Alabama – March 17th, 2019 Chicago, Illinois) was 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 was also the co-author of the R&B hit Shake a Tail Feather.
Andre Mr. Rhythm Williams started his recording career in Detroit, Michigan on the small but prolific [l147246] label. Williams recorded upon, or has writing credits upon, in excess of 200 songs - including: Bacon Fat, Pig Snoots, JailBait, Pass The Biscuits, Rib Tips and The Greasy Chicken, working with line-ups like
The Don Juans. (This band’s tenor-saxophonist was cousin to Williams’ wife.)
An often risqué musician, Williams became known as a producer and songwriter, composing such tunes as: Shake A Tailfeather, Cadillac Jack, Funky Judge and Twine Time for bands like
The Five Du-Tones and
Alvin Cash & The Crawlers.
By the 1980’s Andre Williams was on drugs and homeless. After cleaning himself up, he began making music again in the late 1990s, releasing Greasy, Silky, and The Black Godfather. He also performed under several aliases.