Clarence Williams was an influential American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher, born on October 8, 1898, in Plaquemine, Louisiana. He passed away on November 6, 1965, in Queens, New York City.

At the age of 12, Williams left home to join Billy Kersand's Traveling Minstrel Show, eventually relocating to New Orleans. Initially, he took on various odd jobs, including shining shoes, but quickly gained recognition as a singer and master of ceremonies. By the early 1910s, he had established himself as a respected local entertainer, playing piano and composing original music by 1913. Williams demonstrated astute business acumen, arranging and managing entertainment at local African-American vaudeville theaters, as well as in numerous saloons, dance halls on Rampart Street, and clubs in Storyville.

In 1915, Williams partnered with violinist and bandleader Armand J. Piron to start a music publishing business, which would become the leading African-American owned music publisher in the United States by the 1920s. He briefly toured with W.C. Handy before opening a publishing office in Chicago and ultimately settling 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, he oversaw African-American recordings for the New York offices of Okeh phonograph company from the Gaiety Theatre office building in Times Square, where he recruited many artists for the label. Williams also recorded extensively, leading studio bands for OKeh, Columbia, and occasionally other record labels.

He often recorded under the names "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his washboard sides. In addition, he produced and participated in early recordings of notable artists such as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith, Virginia Liston, and Irene Scruggs. Prominent cornet player King Oliver featured on several of Williams' late 1920s recordings, and in 1928, Williams served as the recording director for the short-lived QRS Records label.

Many of his recordings featured songs from his publishing house, leading to multiple recordings of tracks like "Baby Won't You Please Come Home," "Close Fit Blues," and "Papa De-Da-Da." In 1933, he signed with the Vocalion label, producing numerous popular recordings that predominantly featured washboard percussion, continuing through 1935.

In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back catalog of tunes to Decca Records for $50,000 and retired, later opening a bargain used goods store. He died in Queens, New York City, in 1965 and was interred at Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York. His wife was laid to rest beside him upon her death in 1977. Their grandson is Clarence Williams III.

Williams' name appears as composer or co-composer on numerous songs, including many for which he acquired all rights from the original writers—a common practice in the music publishing industry of the time. His notable hits include "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" (as a publisher, not a composer), "Baby Won't You Please Come Home," "Royal Garden Blues," "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do," and "Shout, Sister, Shout." In recognition of his contributions to music, Williams was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.