Born Dec. 12, 1918, in Cordele, Ga., Williams moved to Chicago with his mother at age 3. His voice developed in church choirs and dance bands, singing there in the late '30s with the group of Jimmie Noone and others in nightclubs, then working with Lionel Hampton and Coleman Hawkins early in the '40s. He went on to work with Andy Kirk's band in 1946-'47, then the Albert Ammons-Pete Johnson band and Red Saunders, finally singing with Basie's septet in 1950 and making his reputation by recording the hit tune "Every Day I Have The Blues" in 1951 with the King Kolax band.

Williams became the singer with the Basie New Testament band in 1954 and stayed until going out on his own in 1960. During his tenure with Basie, Williams became Basie's "No. 1 Son" as he took the band to new popularity. He worked solo, then with "Sweets" Edison's quintet in the early '60s and later began touring with trio support that included Chicago pianists such as Norman Simmons and Junior Mance. He occasionally returned to perform with the Basie band during his career, which held considerable commercial and artistic success over the years until his death in Las Vegas on March 29, 1999. Some of his best recorded efforts include Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (Verve), although he prized his work with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis band as his favorite. —Will Smith