Ink – The Indelible J. Mayo Williams Murphy Hardback 9780252045882

InkThe Indelible J. Mayo Williams\nAuthor(s): Clifford R. Murphy\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University of Illinois Press, United States\nImprint: University of Illinois Press\nISBN-13: 9780252045882, 978-0252045882\nSynopsis\nThe product of a hardscrabble childhood, J. Mayo \""Ink\"" Williams parlayed an Ivy League education into unlikely twin careers as a foundational producer of Black music and pioneering Black player in the early NFL. Clifford R. Murphy tells the story of an ambitious, upwardly mobile life affected, but never daunted, by white society's racism or the Black community's class tensions. Williams caroused with Paul Robeson, recorded the likes of Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and lined up against Chicago Bears player-coach George Halas. Though resented by the artists he exploited, Williams combined a rock-solid instinct for what would sell with an ear for music that put him at the forefront of finding, recording, and blending blues and jazz. Murphy charts Willi.