Label his singing as blues-oriented or call it soul-oriented, simply soul-blues, of perhaps even designate it as Southern soul-blues, but all I know is that when I listen to the vocal work of Lee Shot Williams I have a tremendous time!  Such as it was this past weekend when I puled from my CD racks the superb collection entitled Cold Shot – Sings Big Time Blues (Black Magic Records 9029), one that includes Little Smokey Smothers and James Wheeler providing exceptional guitar energies, Johnny B. Gayden framing the low-end bass patterns, Ray Allison bordering everything with his tight percussion efforts, and James Montgomery providing sensational trombone runs, among other magnificent contributors. 

This 1995 release got me to thinking that I previously have not profiled the vocal magic of Lee Shot Williams, so it only seems appropriate to now provide a brief overview of his life and musical career.

Williams came into the world as Henry Lee Williams in late May, 1938 in Lexington, Mississippi, a town that is the county seat of Holmes County, an area in the state’s middle section, just east of Humphreys County.  Williams’ home area was rural in nature, with him being raised nearby the home of his cousin, the noted long-time Chicago bluesman Little Smokey Smothers.  Obviously, through his association with Little Smokey Smothers, Williams made an acquaintance with another of Chicago’s most revered bluesmen, Big Smokey Smothers.

Unfortunately, not a lot of information is readily available on Williams’ earliest formative years (as is often the case with so many of the artists profiled her), but it is known that his step-sister, Arelean Brown, the singer and songwriter who recorded the 1977 LP entitled Sings The Blues In The Loop (Simmons SR 1313), enjoyed a family full of musical talent, and they were the first people to provide a young Williams a taste of the excitement of “live” music by carrying him to the various social events and jukes in the area.  It should be noted here that Brown and Williams did join eventually forces on a number of recordings for labels including Simmons Records  and Dynamite Records.

Before we continue on, an explanation of how Williams came to acquire the “Shot” name is in order.  It’s not some wildly mysterious or fascinating tale.  Rather, as a young man Williams like to dress himself in suits of clothes and the accompanying accessories to feel like a “big shot.”  His mother obviously took note of this tendency and bestowed upon him the “Shot” moniker.

At the age of 16, Williams made a major move northward to Detroit, Michigan, staying four years, and then in 1958 he moved westward to Chicago, Illinois to be near his cousin Little Smokey Smothers.  In Chicago, Williams was able to take in all that the big city’s bustling blues scene had to offer.  He was fascinated by all the great music that Chicago’s blues panorama offered, and he made friends and acquaintances with the likes of blues greats Howlin’ Wolf and Magic Sam (Maghett).  Many of these introductions came about because Little Smokey Smothers had an active blues band at that time; in fact, in 1960 Williams joined the group as the vocalist.  This was not the only Chicago band that Williams would front as a vocalist, as in only a short period he was working with the aforementioned Magic Sam.

The year 1962 was big for Williams.  He realized his dream of being a recording artist in his own right by seeing the release of “Hello Baby” / “I’m Trying” for the Foxy label, a Chicago-based enterprise.  Now, Williams’ career was off-and-running.  On the strength of his continuous performing and the subsequent notoriety form his initial release, Williams was able to return to the studio in the early 1960s for a variety of labels including the Gamma, Palos Records, Tchula Records, Shama Records, and the strong King/Federal conglomerate.  The names these releases saw the lights of day under included Lee Williams, Lee Shot Williams, Lee (Shot) Williams, and Lee “Shot” Williams. 

In fact, 1964’s “You’re Welcome To The Club” from the Federal label was something of a big hit in Chicago.  How powerful was this outing?  The song was eventually released on Chicago’s powerful Checker label only one year later by blues giant Little Milton.

Playing on the Chicago music circuit was one thing, but Williams got his initial taste of being part of a touring operation when, in the middle part of the 1960s, he went on the road with another major blues star, slide guitar giant Earl Hooker.

Off the road and back in Chicago, Williams continued to regularly perform and record.  He saw late-1960s releases on the Shama Records label, with the 1968 pairing of “I Like Your Style” / “Hurt Myself” being especially noteworthy.  These cuts came out under the name Lee Shot Williams.  Particularly, “I Like Your Style” was a significant hit record, and was another of Williams’ songs to be covered by a major blues artist, this time by none other than singer and harmonica player Little Junior Parker.

Williams soldiered forward with his active performing and recording pursuits, seeing releases on Sussex in 1970 under the moniker Lee “Shot” Williams, PM Records in 1972 under the Lee “Shot” Williams name, and a 1974 side with Arlene (Arelean) Brown for the Dynamite Records label.

However, what was lacking for Williams was a complete LP of music.  As said, he had released a great many 45s.  That issue was resolved in 1977 when Country Disco was released on the Roots label, a Florida operation.  The album was arranged by Chicago saxophone great Gene Barge, and co-produced by Williams with the talent scout and record maker Ralph Bass.  The nine-selection outing had a stellar supporting lineup to supplement Williams’ vocal skill set.  It came out under the name Lee Shot Williams.

Into the 1980s, Williams continued to record for a variety of labels including True Records, Chula Records, R & B, DIS-MUKE, and Chelsea Avenue Records, all the while continuing to grow his devoted audience.

It was also in the 1980s that Williams moved to Memphis, Tennessee, an area he had spent some time in as a boy.  Williams was aware that his brand of soul-blues would find many fans there in his new home base area.  In 1991, Williams saw the release of a seven-song cassette tape on the 4-Way Records label entitled I Like Your Style (under the name Lee Shot), and then in 1992 Williams laid-down tracks for the Vivid Sound label, a Japanese imprint, entitled A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues. 

For Williams, 1995 was to be another very good year.  He had done a stint as a guest vocalist on a collection by Little Smokey Smothers and, upon the strength of his commanding, gospel-infused singing style, the Danish Black Magic Records label decided it wanted to record him.  A choice band was assembled, and the respectful, experienced crew allowed Williams to really stretch out and fully offer his complete range of powerful singing.  The resulting release, the previously mentioned collection entitled Cold Shot – Sings Big Time Blues (Black Magic Records 9029), was a major accomplishment.  In fact, the collection was voted the Best Blues Album of 1995 by Living Blues Magazine.

Williams mined a lot of tasty soul-blues on Cold Shot – Sings Big Time Blues, including remarkable covers of songs by Wilson Pickett, Bill Withers, Ike Turner, Gladys Knight, and Jimmy Lewis, among others.  It was, and arguably could be said remains, Williams’ crowning recorded jewel.

But Williams continued on a musical roll.  He signed with Memphis’ celebrated Ecko Records and, between 1996-2006, he released six full-length recordings for the label.  He did see the release of a Hot Spot Records collection in 2002, and three outings for CDS Records (though those exact release dates remain murky to this writer).

One of the biggest shows of Williams’ career occurred at the 1994 Chicago Blues Festival where he appeared before thousands of fans.  The performance opportunity did certainly elevate his profile; however, he continued to perform mostly in club settings. 

In late November, 2011, Williams passed away from unidentified causes.   He is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery on Chicago’s far south side.  He was 73 years of age at the time of his passing.

Below are the Lee Shot Williams collections that offer ideal glimpses into his distinctly masterful and powerful soul-blues vocal aptitudes and music.  His is a huge talent worth exploring.

• Country Disco(Roots label)
• A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues(Vivid Sound)
• Cold Shot(Black Magic Records)
• Hot Shot(Ecko Records)
• She Made A Freak Out Of Me(Ecko Records)