Everyone knows that Joe Williams sang the hell out of the blues, but do you know what else he sang the hell out of?
Everything.
Williams’ expansive wheelhouse encompassed romantic ballads, songs of heartbreak, swinging standards, bossa novas, and boogaloo beats. He could improvise like a stylish horn player or phrase down the middle like a sophisticated pop singer. He was even a credible scat singer, though it wasn’t a strength. Williams could do more things as well or better than just about any other postwar male jazz singer.
Yet his identity remains inextricably tied to the
