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Clarence Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher, born on October 8, 1898, in Plaquemine, Louisiana. He ran away from home at the age of 12 to join Billy Kersand's Traveling Minstrel Show, eventually moving to New Orleans. There, he initially worked shining shoes and doing odd jobs before becoming known as a singer and master of ceremonies. By the early 1910s, Williams was a well-regarded local entertainer, playing piano and composing new tunes by 1913. A savvy businessman, Williams arranged and managed entertainment at local African-American vaudeville theaters, saloons, and dance halls in Rampart Street and Storyville. In 1915, he started a music publishing business with violinist/bandleader Armand J. Piron, which became the leading African-American owned music publisher in the country by the 1920s. He briefly toured with W.C. Handy, set up a publishing office in Chicago, and settled in New York in the early 1920s. In 1921, he married a blues singer and stage actress, with whom he frequently performed. During the 1920s, Williams supervised African-American recordings for the Okeh phonograph company and recruited many artists for the label. He recorded extensively, leading studio bands for OKeh, Columbia, and occasionally other record labels, often using the names "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings

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