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Ain't no mountain high enough >> The ups and downs of raunchy soul legend Andre Williams by ARISH A. KHAN
His life took a turn for the worse following a brief recording stint with a gun-toting Ike Turner in the mid-'70s. Lost amidst piles of cocaine and mayhem, the young Andre woke up one morning with a nose bleed that seemed to have lasted several decades. He had gone from living in five-star hotels to passing out in the gutters of the Windy City. After over 20 years of debauchery, Andre Williams has been reborn at the age of 61 (without the help of any Viagra). He's shined his shoes, got the stains out of his sharkskin suit and crawled out onto the stage with a mission to wet panties across the land. Mirror: What is your fondest memory from the '50s? Andre Williams: I think the Screamin' Jay Hawkins show was one of my fondest. It was Little Richard, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the Moon Glows, the Dells and myself, at the Apollo in New York. And there he was, this guy comin' outta the casket, throwin' all these firecracker bombs with his undertaker suit on. He was just a wild man. Little Richard was young and he was just kickin' real good, too. M: What was the crowd like? AW: It was all black and, believe me, they were very, very picky back then. If ya couldn't do the jive, you'd see bananas and tomatoes headin' towards the stage. It was great. The kids accepted me 'cuz I was dancin' real good. I was very young at the time. M: Describe the lowest of the low in the life of Andre Williams. AW: That was my drug trip from 1978 'til about 1987. About nine years in the total gutter. I used live in a dumpster across from Oprah Winfrey's studio in Chicago and pick up cigarette butts off the street while all her guests would pull up in their limousines. M: What drove you into the gutter? AW: Cocaine. M: What was the wildest sexual experience you've ever had? AW: When I made love in a car and found out it was right in the back of a police station. We didn't know it until the paddy wagon pulled up with a bunch of prisoners. And that's when I'd seen it all, in the back of a police station. M: Do you have any advice for young lovers out there? AW: My advice to young lovers is learn as much about sex as you possibly can and get as much as you can, so when you leave here and you meet them guys upstairs, you'll be able to talk about it. It's bad when you don't have the knowledge and you're sittin' with a bunch of guys and you can't hold a conversation with 'em. So I feel sorry for a young virgin. M: I recently heard James Brown goin' on about the wonders Viagra did for his sex life. Have you ever had any experiences with it? AW: Well, I'm gonna tell you about Viagra in my hindsight. I'm a greedy man and too much anything ain't good for Andre Williams. So I think I'll just run with my natural speed, 'cuz if I had a lot of Viagra, I'd probably OD on it. M: What do you think might happen if ya OD'd on Viagra? AW: Well, I think they might have a problem closin' the casket! (whole lotta laughter) Don't you think so? They'd have to bury me in a lidless casket. M: How was it working with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who you'll be touring with in Europe? AW: Well, I didn't know what was gettin' ready to happen from minute to minute. But every minute was good. Everything was working, all boners were poppin'. I think that them three boys is a work of art when it comes to chemistry. I think they gonna be here a long time, if the most high keep 'em healthy. M: What did the sweetest pussy you've ever tasted taste like? AW: Tasted like honeydew melon. You know, the small watermelon. M: What can the ladies of Montreal expect from Andre Williams? AW: An hour and a half of total energy, uncanned raw energy. At Jailhouse Rock Café with the Spaceshits (who are launching two new 45s) and UVBC, Thursday, October 8, 9pm, $8
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Born in the cotton fields of Alabama, soul survivor Andre Williams once graced the legendary stage of the Apollo Theatre back in the '50s. He taught the kids how to do the Greasy Chicken and had everybody "shakin' a tail feather" when he hit the stage.