His singular guitar playing, marked by flamboyant string-bending, imaginative chord voicings and a distinctive tone, was influential in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.
[1][4] Williams cut his teeth gigging with a string of blues musicians, notably Memphis Minnie, Elmore James, and Otis Spann.
[1] Williams's solo career began in December 1955 with the upbeat, saxophone-driven "Lookin' for My Baby", released under the name Little Papa Joe by Blue Lake Records.
By this time, Williams was highly sought after as a session guitarist, and his virtuosity in this capacity is well illustrated by his blistering lead guitar work on Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?
[1] The frequency with which Williams found his distinctive guitar phrases being copied without credit led to increasing disenchantment with the music business.
[7] In the early 1960s, Williams was making a living gigging with his Big 3 Trio (not to be confused with Willie Dixon's group of the same name), but by the end of the decade, he had retired from the music industry altogether.
He was encouraged in this period by Dick Shurman, who eventually produced his comeback album, Return of a Legend (2002), on which his bold playing belies his thirty-year break from music.
[1] "He plays with a verve and vigor that sound as good today as it did on the classic records," wrote Vintage Guitar magazine.