DETROIT (AP) — Andre Williams, an R&B singer and songwriter who co-wrote “Shake A Tail Feather” and performed across musical genres, has died at 82.
Williams’ manager and musical director, Kenn Goodman, says Williams was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and that he died Sunday at a Chicago nursing home.
R&B singer Andre Williams (Photo: Facebook)
Williams moved as a young man from Alabama to Detroit, where he signed with Fortune Records and, later, with Motown Records. His early hits included “Bacon Fat,” ”Jail Bait” and “Shake a Tail Feather,” which Ray Charles sang in “The Blues Brothers.”
Williams also produced the recording of “Mustang Sally” by its composer, “Sir” Mack Rice.
Goodman, a Chicago record label owner who worked with Williams for two decades, says Williams’ musical contributions were “massive” and spanned soul, punk, garage rock and country.