DESCRIPTION:
Born in Bessemer, Alabama, United States, Williams lived in a housing project with his mother until she died when he was six years of age. A sly and smart young boy, his "aunties" raised him until he was around 16. He then set out on his own and moved to Detroit, Michigan. There, he became friends with Jack and Devora Brown, owners of Fortune Records which was located at the back of a barber shop. Williams would become label mates with Nolan Strong and Nathaniel Mayer.

In the early 1960s, Williams co-wrote Stevie Wonder's first song, "Thank You for Loving Me." Williams' "Shake a Tail Feather" was also a hit in 1963 for the Five Du-Tones and then for Ike & Tina Turner. Alvin Cash & the Crawlers also made a hit out of the Williams song "Twine Time". As well as these hits, Williams also supervised the making of two albums by The Contours. Additionally, in the 1960s, Williams was the manager and roadie for Edwin Starr.

In 1966, Williams released two records on the Avin Records label, then two records more on Detroit's Wingate label: "Loose Juice" and "Do It". On the Ric-Tic label in 1967, he released "You Got It and I Want It". In 1968, Williams was signed to Chess Records on Checker, Chicago's major blues label. They released many hits for Williams — "Humpin' Bumpin' and Thumpin'" and "Cadillac Jack" in particular. "Cadillac Jack" reached #46 on the Billboard R&B chart, his second and final chart hit. Then, he began to work with many unknown black labels and released songs such as "Sweet Little Pussy Cat" and "Rib Tips, Pts. 1 & 2." In 1968, Williams collaborated with the Natural Bridge Bunch to release "Pig Snoots," a novelty song about a man named Ricky who would "come all way cross town to get me some snoots". In the 1970s, Williams wrote some songs for Parliament and Funkadelic. Williams also began to produce for Ike Turner.