Jump to content

Rubberlegs Williams: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 3: Line 3:
Williams became employed as dancer with Bobby Grant's Female Impersonators in 1919 and became a spectacle.<ref name="Sullivan2013">{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Steve|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QWBPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|date=4 October 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8296-6|page=174}}</ref><ref name="Burroughs1964">{{cite book|last=Burroughs|first=William S.|title=Esquire|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wVFXAAAAYAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Esquire Publishing Company|page=193}}</ref> He later won several [[Cakewalk]] and [[Charleston]] competitions and other dancing contests and achieved success on [[Vaudeville]], going on tours with the [[Theater Owners Booking Association]]. He got his nickname "Rubberlegs" because he danced as if he had legs made ​​of rubber. In 1933 he appeared in the short film ''[[Smash Your Luggage]]'', and appeared in shows like the "Cotton Club Parade" and "Blackbirds of 1933".<ref name="Shipton1999">{{cite book|last=Shipton|first=Alyn|title=Groovin' High : The Life of Dizzy Gillespie: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=y-rSc6g9RQ0C&pg=PA158|date=3 June 1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534938-2|page=158-9}}</ref> He also appeared as a singer with prominent artists such [[Count Basie Orchestra]], [[Fletcher Henderson]], [[Chick Webb]] and [[Charlie Parker]], and sang on the first recording of [[Dizzy Gillespie]]'s "[[Hot House]]" on April 1, 1945 in New York City. He was a regular performer at the [[Southland (jazz venue)|Southland]] ballroom in Boston, and according to Count Basie, he became the venue's most prominent attraction with his elaborates dances.<ref name="Basie2002">{{cite book|last=Basie|first=Count|title=Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8osZnKqbRwQC&pg=PA226|year=2002|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81107-4|page=226}}</ref>
Williams became employed as dancer with Bobby Grant's Female Impersonators in 1919 and became a spectacle.<ref name="Sullivan2013">{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Steve|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QWBPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|date=4 October 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8296-6|page=174}}</ref><ref name="Burroughs1964">{{cite book|last=Burroughs|first=William S.|title=Esquire|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wVFXAAAAYAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Esquire Publishing Company|page=193}}</ref> He later won several [[Cakewalk]] and [[Charleston]] competitions and other dancing contests and achieved success on [[Vaudeville]], going on tours with the [[Theater Owners Booking Association]]. He got his nickname "Rubberlegs" because he danced as if he had legs made ​​of rubber. In 1933 he appeared in the short film ''[[Smash Your Luggage]]'', and appeared in shows like the "Cotton Club Parade" and "Blackbirds of 1933".<ref name="Shipton1999">{{cite book|last=Shipton|first=Alyn|title=Groovin' High : The Life of Dizzy Gillespie: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=y-rSc6g9RQ0C&pg=PA158|date=3 June 1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534938-2|page=158-9}}</ref> He also appeared as a singer with prominent artists such [[Count Basie Orchestra]], [[Fletcher Henderson]], [[Chick Webb]] and [[Charlie Parker]], and sang on the first recording of [[Dizzy Gillespie]]'s "[[Hot House]]" on April 1, 1945 in New York City. He was a regular performer at the [[Southland (jazz venue)|Southland]] ballroom in Boston, and according to Count Basie, he became the venue's most prominent attraction with his elaborates dances.<ref name="Basie2002">{{cite book|last=Basie|first=Count|title=Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8osZnKqbRwQC&pg=PA226|year=2002|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81107-4|page=226}}</ref>


A larger than life character both on and off stage, Williams was seen as the "embodiment of the raucous style that had dominated the black variety stage" at the time.<ref name="DeVeaux1997">{{cite book|last=DeVeaux|first=Scott Knowles|title=The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Q-Pg8szopSMC&pg=PA415|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20579-6|page=415}}</ref> During a January 1945 recording session with Continental, he once screeched his way through a session after becoming "wildly disoriented after unwittingly ingesting an enormous dose of [[Benzedrine]]" after drinking Charlie Parker spiked his coffee with three tablets.<ref name="DeVeaux1997"/><ref name="Shipton1999"/><ref name="Rijn1997">{{cite book|last=Rijn|first=Guido van|title=Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qrMcYgPcM1kC&pg=PA189|year=1997|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-165-1|page=189}}</ref> However, Williams stood out in the jazz community for refusing to consume alcohol, smoke or take drugs which made him highly respected and liked, especially among the black community of New York City.<ref name="Shipton1999"/> He was also not especially keen with the development of [[bebop]]'s "off playing", and once memorably barked at Dizzy Gillespie during his intoxicated recording session: "Miss Gillespie, if you play another of them bad notes, I'm gonna beat your brains out".<ref name="Shipton1999"/>
A larger than life character both on and off stage, Williams was seen as the "embodiment of the raucous style that had dominated the black variety stage" at the time.<ref name="DeVeaux1997">{{cite book|last=DeVeaux|first=Scott Knowles|title=The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Q-Pg8szopSMC&pg=PA415|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20579-6|page=415}}</ref> During a January 1945 recording session with Continental, he once screeched his way through a session after becoming "wildly disoriented after unwittingly ingesting an enormous dose of [[Benzedrine]]", after Charlie Parker spiked his coffee with three tablets.<ref name="DeVeaux1997"/><ref name="Shipton1999"/><ref name="Rijn1997">{{cite book|last=Rijn|first=Guido van|title=Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qrMcYgPcM1kC&pg=PA189|year=1997|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-165-1|page=189}}</ref> However, Williams stood out in the jazz community for refusing to consume alcohol, smoke or take drugs which made him highly respected and liked, especially among the black community of New York City.<ref name="Shipton1999"/> He was also not especially keen with the development of [[bebop]]'s "off playing", and once memorably barked at Dizzy Gillespie during his intoxicated recording session: "Miss Gillespie, if you play another of them bad notes, I'm gonna beat your brains out".<ref name="Shipton1999"/>
==References==
==References==

Revision as of 14:14, 6 December 2013

Henry "Rubberlegs" Williams (14 July 1907 in Atlanta - 17 October 1962 in New York City) was an American blues and jazz singer, dancer and occasional female impersonator.

Williams became employed as dancer with Bobby Grant's Female Impersonators in 1919 and became a spectacle.[1][2] He later won several Cakewalk and Charleston competitions and other dancing contests and achieved success on Vaudeville, going on tours with the Theater Owners Booking Association. He got his nickname "Rubberlegs" because he danced as if he had legs made ​​of rubber. In 1933 he appeared in the short film Smash Your Luggage, and appeared in shows like the "Cotton Club Parade" and "Blackbirds of 1933".[3] He also appeared as a singer with prominent artists such Count Basie Orchestra, Fletcher Henderson, Chick Webb and Charlie Parker, and sang on the first recording of Dizzy Gillespie's "Hot House" on April 1, 1945 in New York City. He was a regular performer at the Southland ballroom in Boston, and according to Count Basie, he became the venue's most prominent attraction with his elaborates dances.[4]

A larger than life character both on and off stage, Williams was seen as the "embodiment of the raucous style that had dominated the black variety stage" at the time.[5] During a January 1945 recording session with Continental, he once screeched his way through a session after becoming "wildly disoriented after unwittingly ingesting an enormous dose of Benzedrine", after Charlie Parker spiked his coffee with three tablets.[5][3][6] However, Williams stood out in the jazz community for refusing to consume alcohol, smoke or take drugs which made him highly respected and liked, especially among the black community of New York City.[3] He was also not especially keen with the development of bebop's "off playing", and once memorably barked at Dizzy Gillespie during his intoxicated recording session: "Miss Gillespie, if you play another of them bad notes, I'm gonna beat your brains out".[3]

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Steve (4 October 2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Scarecrow Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-8108-8296-6.
  2. ^ Burroughs, William S. (1964). Esquire. Esquire Publishing Company. p. 193.
  3. ^ a b c d Shipton, Alyn (3 June 1999). Groovin' High : The Life of Dizzy Gillespie: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie. Oxford University Press. p. 158-9. ISBN 978-0-19-534938-2.
  4. ^ Basie, Count (2002). Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie. Da Capo Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-306-81107-4.
  5. ^ a b DeVeaux, Scott Knowles (1997). The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. University of California Press. p. 415. ISBN 978-0-520-20579-6.
  6. ^ Rijn, Guido van (1997). Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-60473-165-1.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Rubberlegs_Williams&oldid=584847556"