- (This page is about the American saxophonist player. For the British artist of the same name, see Paul Williams(2)).
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams (July 13, 1915 – September 14, 2002) was an American jazz and blues saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter. His record "The Huckle-Buck", recorded in December 1948, was one of the most successful R&B records of the time. In his Honkers and Shouters, Arnold Shaw credited Williams as one of the first to employ the honking tenor saxophone solo that became the hallmark of rhythm and blues and rock and roll in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Links to Peel[]
In his youth, Peel was a fan of the "honking saxophone" style mentioned above, although, as he mentioned in Margrave Of The Marshes, the jazz club at Shrewsbury School didn't share his enthusiasm for it when he played them an Earl Bostic record. He also played some tracks from Paul Williams on his shows in the 80's and 90's, notably "Back Bender", which appeared at least three times in show playlists.
After the 90's, there's no evidence that the DJ played any more records by Paul Williams on his radio programmes, However, as Williams went on to have a long career as a musical director and session musician, working with the likes of James Brown, Elmore James and Otis Redding, as well as being a member of Atlantic Records' house band, Peel may well have played tracks by other artists on which the saxophonist was present. Among the many cover versions of Paul Williams' best-known tune, "The Huckle-Buck", one, by Coast To Coast, was a UK Top 5 single in 1981, although JP doesn't seem to have played it.
Shows Played[]
- 19 February 1980 (Virgin In-Store): House Rocker (House Rockin') (Double LP) (JP: 'Honking Those Old Sax Favourites or some nonsense like that.')
- 1981
- 04 May 1981: The Hucklebuck (v/a 2xLP: The Roots Of Rock'N Roll) Savoy
- 1987
- 03 March 1987: Back Bender (v/a LP - Honkers & Screamers: Roots Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 6) Savoy
- 1997
- 04 June 1997: Back Bender (v/a LP - Honkers & Screamers: Roots Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 6) Savoy
- 19 June 1997 (BFBS): 'Back Bender (2x Compilation LP-Honkers & Screamers: Roots Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 6)' (Savoy)