Larry Williams

Larry Williams
Background information
Birth nameLawrence Eugene Williams
Born(1935-05-10)May 10, 1935
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.[1]
DiedJanuary 7, 1980(1980-01-07) (aged 44)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano
Years active1954–1979
Labels

Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980)[1] was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including "Bony Moronie", "Short Fat Fannie", "Slow Down", "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" (1958), "Bad Boy" and "She Said Yeah" (1959).[2] John Lennon was a fan, and the Beatles and several other British Invasion groups recorded several of his songs.

Williams' life mixed tremendous success with violence and drug addiction. He was a longtime friend of Little Richard, with whom his life intertwined personally and professionally from their meeting in 1955 to Williams' death in 1980.[3]

  1. ^ a b c "Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  2. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Larry Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  3. ^ White, Charles A. (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography. Omnibus Press. p. 186.