'Andre Williams makes Little Richard sound like Pat Boone.' So said Cramps frontman Lux Interior of Illinois' 'baddest motherfucker', whose sleazy, drawled 50's R&B has since seen him hailed The Godfather of Rap.
After a string of 60's cult hits, a jaunt in Motown, and stints with Stevie Wonder, the Chi-Lites and George Clinton, Williams spiraled into crack-fueled destitution but soon re-emerged with a crushing, often comic line in brutal, lewd garage rock and gospel-tinged menace.
His latest album, The Black Godfather, was a filthy garage-rock classic that features members of The Dirtbombs and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - the latter with whom Williams recently toured, and who credited him as executive producer on their Acme album. He slayed Triptych audiences in 2004.