Williams, Spencer

Spencer Williams African-American composer and lyricist New Orleans, Louisiana, October 14, 1889; Queens, New York, July 14, 1965. Williams, the son of a New Orleans prostitute, was raised by his aunt, a noted madam, after the death of his mother when he was eight years old. After a short stay in Birmingham, Alabama, with other relatives during his midteens, Williams moved to Chicago. A competent pianist, he worked as a Pullman porter while also playing the piano at a local amusement park, and…