Benjamin "Benny" Williams ( – 1924), better known as Black Benny, was a drummer from New Orleans. Williams grew up in a rough poor

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

in the

Third Ward of New Orleans The 3rd Ward or Third Ward is one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans, a division of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Boundaries The Ward touches the Mississippi River as its front. The down-river boundary is Canal Street, below which is the city' ...

known as "The Battleground". He was in and out of jails for much of his life. In addition to his work as a drummer, Williams was a bouncer and a prizefighter. An early colleague of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

, Williams is referred to in Armstrong's autobiography and helped look after Armstrong during his childhood.

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

talks about Black Benny Williams in his autobiography, as does

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

in his Library of Congress interviews. Williams was stabbed in a dispute on July 2, 1924, by a woman named Helena Lewis. By the time he arrived at Charity Hospital that day, "he had lost a significant amount of blood. His heart was sliced open. And he had no pulse. Doctors went to work on him anyway." A surgeon used four stitches to sew up Williams' heart, then transfused a pint of blood from Williams' sister. Williams then woke up and began to talk. However, an infection set in. He developed pneumonia, and died on July 6. His assailant, Helena Lewis, was shot in an altercation with another woman later that same month. She died at Charity Hospital on July 20.Account of Williams' death
nola.com. Accessed November 4, 2022.

References

Sources

* * Bechet, Sidney, ''Treat it Gentle'', Da Capo Press; 2nd ed. edition (March 5, 2002); Dixieland drummers Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz drummers 1924 deaths Tuxedo Brass Band members Year of birth uncertain {{US-jazz-drummer-stub