Emery Williams Jr. (October 26, 1931 – August 9, 2005), known as Detroit Junior, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

pianist, vocalist and songwriter. He is known for songs such as "So Unhappy", "Call My Job", "If I Hadn't Been High", "Ella" and "Money Tree". His songs have been covered by Koko Taylor,

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

and other blues artists.

Career

Born in Haynes, Arkansas, Williams recorded his first single, "Money Tree", with the Bea & Baby label in 1960. His first full album, ''Chicago Urban Blues'', was released in the early 1970s on the Blues on Blues label. He also has recordings on

Alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

, Blue Suit, The Sirens Records, and Delmark. Williams began his career in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, backing touring musicians such as

Eddie Boyd Edward Riley Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994)Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016. was an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, including the ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

, and

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American R&B singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. One commentator noted, "Milburn excelled at good-natured, upbeat romps about booze and partying, imbued with a ...

. Boyd brought him to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1956, where he spent the next twelve years. In the early 1970s, Williams toured and recorded with

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

. After the death of Wolf in 1976, Williams returned to Chicago, where he lived and performed until his death from heart failure in 2005. He was a weekly regular at Chicago blues clubs B.L.U.E.S. and Kingston Mines.

Discography

Albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit Junior 1931 births 2005 deaths American blues pianists American male pianists American blues singers Songwriters from Arkansas Singers from Arkansas Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Blues musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American singers Songwriters from Illinois 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters