Chocolate Williams (also known as Billy and Bob, ''né'' Robert Williams Jr.; February 1, 1916 – June 22, 1984) was an American jazz bassist and vocalist based in New York City. He was a prolific performer of jazz, and, notably, performed and recorded with

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

in 1941 and

Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...

in 1952.

Selected career highlights

Williams performed with the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

Tramp Band,

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

Combo,

, his own trio, the Three Chocolates, and his own jazz combo, Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers. Williams was the founding leader of The Three Chocolates. The other two original members were guitarist

Jerome Darr Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...

(de), who went on to perform with

Jonah Jones Jonah Jones (born Robert Elliott Jones; December 31, 1909 – April 29, 2000) was a jazz trumpeter who created concise versions of jazz and swing and jazz standards that appealed to a mass audience. In the jazz community, he is known for his wo ...

, and pianist Bill Spotswood. Throughout the 1940s and mid-fifties, The Three Chocolates played at clubs along the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest and were favorites in many swank Harlem after-hour spots. In late 1943, The Three Chocolates performed at the

Onyx Club The Onyx Club was a jazz club located on West 52nd Street in New York City."New York: America's Jaz ...

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of P ...

for seven months, the Famous Door for five months, and, before that, Kelly's Stables. Bassist

Earl May Earl Charles Barrington May (September 17, 1927 - January 4, 2008) was an American jazz bassist. He was "one of the most prodigious and prolific bassists of the postwar era". Early life May was born in New York City on September 17, 1927. As a chi ...

(de) (1926–2008), who substituted for Williams at

Minton's Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider o ...

, succeeded him when he stopped playing there. ; Semi-retirement After his semi-retirement in 1955, Chocolate Williams worked as a messenger for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and retired in 1974. ; Residences He was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

in 1916, and lived there until at least 1930. Williams lived at 60 West 142nd Street in the Sugar Hill area of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

when he died in 1984.

Selected extant discography

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

Onyx ORI205

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...
(piano, vocalist on tr 1), Chocolate Williams (bass on trs 2, 3, 5–8, vocalist on tr 2), Anna Robinson (vocalist on tr 5), Ethel White (vocalist on tr 6),
Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. H ...
(vocalist on tr 6), Ollie Potter (vocalist on tr 8)
Recorded live July 26 or 27, 1941, at Gee-Haw Stables, New York City
1: "Mighty Lak' a Rose" : Art Tatum (vocalist) : (Williams not on this cut) 2: "Knockin' Myself Out"
: Chocolate Williams (vocalist) 3: "Toledo Blues" (1)
:
Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...
(vocalist) 4: " Body and Soul" : (Williams not on this cut) :
Johnny Green John Waldo Green (October 10, 1908 – May 15, 1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earl ...
(music) :
Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," " When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Bi ...
(words) :
Robert Sour The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(words) :
Frank Eyton Frank Eyton (30 August 1894 – 11 November 1962) was an English popular music lyricist best known for co-writing the lyrics of Johnny Green's " Body and Soul" (1930) with Edward Heyman and Robert Sour.Frank Eyton biographyat Allmusic - retrieved ...
(words) 5: "
Star Dust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...
" : Anna Robinson (vocalist) :
Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the firs ...
(music) :
Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 19 ...
(words) 6: "
Embraceable You "Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named ''East Is West''. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway mu ...
" : Ethel White (vocalist) :
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
(music) :
Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...
(words) 7: "
I Surrender Dear "I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing Crosby in 1931, which became his first s ...
" : Charlie Shavers (vocalist) :
Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use " scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby a ...
(music) :
Gordon Clifford Gordon Clifford may refer to: * Gordon Clifford (rugby league) * Gordon Clifford (lyricist) Gordon Clifford (1902–1968) was an American lyricist who wrote music for Hollywood films in the 1930s. His best-known songs include Nacio Herb Brown's "P ...
(words) 8: "
There'll Be Some Changes Made "There'll Be Some Changes Made" ("Changes") is a popular song by Benton Overstreet (composer) and Billy Higgins (lyricist). Published in 1921, the song has flourished in several genres, particularly jazz. The song has endured for as many years ...
" (6) : Ollie Potter (vocalist) : William (Willie) Benton Overstreet (1888–1935) (music) : Billy Higgins ''(né'' William Weldon Higgins; 1888–1937) (words) (see note)
Chocolate Williams With
Brick Fleagle Jacob Roger "Brick" Fleagle (22 August 1906 – 15 April 1992) was a jazz guitarist. He performed with leading musicians including Miles Davis. At one time Fleagle had his own sixteen-piece band.Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...
(piano), "Half Valve" (coronet),
Brick Fleagle Jacob Roger "Brick" Fleagle (22 August 1906 – 15 April 1992) was a jazz guitarist. He performed with leading musicians including Miles Davis. At one time Fleagle had his own sixteen-piece band.Frankie Carle Frankie Carle (born Francis Nunzio Carlone, March 25, 1903 – March 7, 2001) was an American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard". " Sunrise Serenade" was ...
(w&m) (1952) 1065-4: "On You It Looks Good" : Ralph Douglas (w&m)
Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers
Recorded March 6, 1952, New York City

Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...
(piano),
Danny Barker Daniel Moses Barker (January 13, 1909 – March 13, 1994) was an American jazz musician, vocalist, and author from New Orleans. He was a rhythm guitarist for Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter during the 1930s. One of Barker's ea ...
(guitar), Chocolate Williams (bass, vocals),
Shadow Wilson Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson (September 25, 1919 – July 11, 1959) was an American jazz drummer. Much of Wilson's early work was with swing jazz orchestras. He played with Frankie Fairfax's Campus Club Orchestra in 1936, with Lucky Millinder in ...
(drums)
Hi-Lo Records 1402 (1952)
HL 311: "Lady Gingersnap" ("Lady Ginger Snaps")
Chocolate Williams (vocalist) : Ernie Washington ''(né'' Ernest Franklin Washington; 1926–1979) (w&m) :
Paul Bascomb Paul Bascomb ( – December 2, 1986) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, noted for his extended tenure with Erskine Hawkins. He is a 1979 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Career Bascomb was a founding member of the Bama St ...
(w&m) HL 312: "Good Story Blues"
Chocolate Williams (vocalist)
(audio on YouTube) : Robert Williams Jr. (w&m) :
Jerome Darr Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
(de) (1910–1986) (w&m)
Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...
MG 12100 (1952)
HL 313: "Who's Blues?"
HL 314: "'S Wonderful" : Gershwin (w&m) HL 315: "Nichols and Dimes"
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
with the
Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing career was relatively short, ...
Quartet /
Herbie Nichols Herbert Horatio Nichols (January 3, 1919 – April 12, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard " Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics. Lif ...

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...
SJL 1166
HL 314: "'S Wonderful" (alternate take) : Gershwin (w&m) HL 315: "Nichols and Dimes" (alternate take)
Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers
Hi-Lo Records 1403 (1952)
HL 313: "Who's Blues?" :
Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr. , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nat ...
(1901–1992) (w&m) HL 314: "
'S Wonderful "S Wonderful" is a 1927 popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ''Funny Face'' (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns. The song is considered a standard and h ...
" : Gershwin (w&m)
Joe Williams
Cincinnati Records 2300 (1944)
Recorded in Cincinnati, ca. November 1944
2300 A: (matrix QB3345): "'Round The Clock Blues" (part 1)
2300 B: (matrix QB3345): "'Round The Clock Blues" (part 2) : Joe Williams &
J. Mayo Williams Jay Mayo "Ink" Williams (September 25, 1894 – January 2, 1980) was a pioneering African-American producer of recorded blues music. Some historians have claimed that Ink Williams earned his nickname by his ability to get the signatures of ...
(words & music; 1944) : Chicago: Mayo Music Corp. (publisher)

; Discography notes * "Knockin' Myself Out", with Tatum on piano and Williams singing, refers to reefer and its local supplier: :: ''If you want to get high, get high kind of quick,'' :: ''Just fall on up to the Gee-Haw'' :: ''And pick up on old Frank Martin's sticks'' * "There'll Be Some Changes Made", was recorded in 1941 on

acetate discs An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', ''dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use ...

by an amateur, a

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

Student, Jerry Newman ''(né'' Jerome Robert Newman; 1918–1970), and released in the 1973. Newman's collection was the initial sole material used to launch the jazz label, Onyx Recording, Inc. ''(aka'' Onyx Records), a New York entity co-founded in 1972 by Don Schlitten and Joe Fields. : Newman, while a student at

in 1941, lugged his acetate disc recording machine – a portable Production of gramophone records#Home recording, Wilcox-Gay Recordio "disc cutter" – to jazz clubs in

, including Minton's Playhouse on 118th Street and Clark Monroe's Uptown House on 134th Street, both of which were incubators of jazz of the day, and in 1941, the beginning of bebop. Newman's collection has endured as the core library for Onyx Recording, Inc.

in 1941, issued by Onyx after being declined by Columbia Records, Columbia, on the LP record, LP ''God Is in the House (Art Tatum album), God Is in the House''. At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1974, the album won two Grammys, one for Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, Best Improvised Jazz Solo and one for Grammy Award for Best Album Notes, Best Liner Notes, written by Dan Morgenstern, Morgenstern. Newman's recordings have been issued as unauthorized records, variously over the years, but none were done so with the permission or participation of the artists or their estates. The commercial value of the recordings were deemed '; and those who acquired and distributed the recordings viewed the mission as one of curating jazz history. : The

session at Gee-Haw Stables was the subject of a poem, "Art Tatum at the Gee-Haw Stables", by Grace Schulman.

Selected lyrics

:; "Good Story Blues" : (twelve-bar blues) :
audio
on YouTube)

Collaborators

* Percy Brice ''(né'' Percy Austin Brice Jr.; born March 25, 1923, New York City) :de:Percy Brice, (de), drummer, performed with Chocolate Williams after-hours at

from 1953 to 1954.

Family

Among his survivors are: his son, Tony Davis; a sister, Alberta Bloomer, a niece, Jennifer Riley; a nephew and 15 grandnieces and nephews. ; Parents * Mother: Jennie ''(née'' Jennifer Scott), who was married to Robert Williams Sr., and, later, Edward Bolden * Father: Robert Williams Sr. ; Nephew : Kimati Dinizulu (1956–2013) – the late American-born African percussionist and exponent of Akan people, Akan traditions in America – was a nephew of Chocolate Williams.

Selected compositions

*"Three Nickels and a Dime", Chocolate Williams (w&m), 1st copy December 16, 1944, Class E unpublished 401371, Chicago: J. Mayo Williams, Mayo Music Corp

"Three Chocolates" disambiguation

The Three Chocolates might wrongly associated with: * Three Chocolate Dandies, vocalists and dancers from the mid-1920s, which featured Albert Wilkins, Bennie Anderson, Fulton Alexander * ''The Chocolate Dandies'' (1924), a musical comedy review; the book was by Noble Sissle and Lew Peyton and the music was by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake * ''Chocolate Kiddies'' (1925), an international touring musical revue directed by Sam Wooding * The Chocolate Steppers, dancers from the early-1930s * The Three Chocolate Drops, dancers from the early-1930s * Three Chocolateers, acrobatic danceers and vocalists, who, among other things, performed "Peckin'" in the 1937 film, ''New Faces of 1937''; originally from the West Coast, but performed famously in Harlem, notably at the Apollo Theater and

; possible original members: Al Bert "Gip" Gipson, Paul Black, known for his Chinese splits (straddling the floor as he walked), and Eddie West, with James Buster Brown replacing West for a short period of time * Kid Chocolate, World Featherweight Champion boxer from Cuba * The Chocolateers ''(aka'' the Burbank Chocolateers), appeared on WBZ (AM), WBZ (Boston) as early as May 1926 * The Chocolateers, a baseball team sponsored by Hershey Chocolate of Hershey, Pennsylvania, from as early as 1929 * Garrott Chocolateers, a radio orchestra out of Pittsburgh (1929–1930), formerly Garrott's Chocolate Soldiers (musical comedy; on radio from 1926 to 1927) * Nestle Chocolateers, singers sponsored by the company, initially broadcast from Pittsburgh beginning September 5, 1930, running through 1934, and hosted by Helen Morgan (singer), Helen Morgan * Phil Kelly's Chocolateers, A basketball team from Kingston, New York, in the early 1930s * George Dawson's Chocolateers, guitarist Dawson formed this Detroit group in 1935 as the house band at the Chocolate Bar in Detroit; They made a few recordings for Paradise Records in late 1947 * The Carolina Chocolate Drops * Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975), Jason "White Chocolate" Williams, NBA basketball player * Curtis "Chocolate" Williams of Pittsburgh * Connie's ''Hot Chocolates'', a 1929 Broadway musical

References

; Notes

; ''Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3 Musical Compositions, New Series'', Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office, Copyright Office ; Original copyrights

; Discography references

; Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chocolate 1916 births 1984 deaths Bebop double-bassists Musicians from Augusta, Georgia American jazz bass guitarists People from Harlem 20th-century American bass guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from New York City American male bass guitarists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians