THE GREATEST LIVE MUSICAL SHOW IN THE WORLD

THE GREATEST LIVE MUSICAL SHOW IN THE WORLD: JASON D. WILLIAMS

The first two times I saw a Jason D. Williams performance were both at the Magic Bag Theater in Ferndale, Michigan in 1999 and 2000. Edward “Joe” Rzeppa, who was the show’s promoter and announcer, introduced Jason D. Williams as “The Greatest Show on Earth.” After seeing those performances, I knew there was no hyperbole involved in that statement.

Fast forward to early February, 2009: I am doing a weight workout at the Naples Heritage Golf & Country Club’s fitness center. I start chatting with a fellow who was staying with friends in the Naples Heritage community, and within two minutes we found out that we shared a passion for rockabilly and other great music. Well, I found out his name was Mike Zim and he was from Columbus, Ohio. When I mentioned Jason D. Williams to Mike, his eyes lit up and he proceeded to tell me that not only does he love Jason D. Williams, but a close friend of his, Jimmy “Cadillac Crumb” Davis, is Jason D. Williams’ guitarist. Also, I found out that Jason D. Williams was booked to perform at a private party in Fort Myers, Florida on February 26.

I told Mike how highly I regarded Jason D. Williams, his talent and his shows, and asked if there was any way for me to attend the show, and write a feature article on Jason for the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Mike Zim got me in touch with Jimmy, and Jimmy referred me to Jennifer, Jason D. Williams’ wife, who in addition to being the mother of their 5 year old son, is also Jason D. Williams’ road manager.

February 26, 2009: I confess, during the one hour drive from Naples to North Fort Myers in rush hour traffic, I was getting pretty excited to be able to see Jason D. Williams perform. Just before starting out on my trip, I got a message from Jennifer that their 5 year old son was very ill and she had to fly back to Arkansas to attend to him.

The venue for the show was the clubhouse for the Old Bridge Village, a private gated community for people 55 and older. In addition to homes, Old Bridge Village had a clubhouse, a marina with a boat launch, slips, and direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. It was a pretty impressive setup, and there were also pools, a spa, activity areas, putting greens, and a physical fitness/exercise room. When I got to the clubhouse, I saw that the place had been set up for a dinner before the show, and there were approximately 550 people finishing their dinner, and looking forward to seeing Jason D. Williams, who had never previously played for them. They stage plenty of shows at the Old Bridge Village, because I met the people who book all the acts, Dick and Jayne Gray of Dick & Jayne Productions, and they really know how to prepare for an event such as this one. Because the tables were perpendicular to the stage, they set up two large TV screen monitors so that the entire audience could watch all of the action on the TV monitors if they wished to.

When I arrived, the band was finishing their meal and I sat down and chatted with them for a few minutes.

Left, Jimmy “Cadillac Crumb” Davis

with Barry Klein just before the performance.

Jennifer had told me that Jason would be available just before his performance started at 8:00, and true to his word he approached me a few minutes before he was introduced to the audience.

Barry chats with Jason D. Williams just before the performance.

Jason estimates that he does approximately 160 shows a year, from one end of the country to the other. He appears at various music festivals, private shows, music emporiums and bars. He performs solo, and also at venues where he shares the billing with other major acts.

Jason is very proud of his band, and they are all seasoned veterans with impressive resumes. In fact, Jason’s lead guitarist, Jimmy “Cadillac Crumb” Davis, started his career with another well-known person from Arkansas, Sleepy LaBeef, in the 1970’s. Jason told me that he too started his career with Sleepy LaBeef, and they all remain friends, with Sleepy and Jason planning a possible performance together in early June of 2009 in Ohio. Back again to Jimmy: Jimmy is from Port Huron, Michigan, an hour or so northeast of Detroit, and he played guitar for Detroiters Jack Scott and Johnny Powers, two performers who rank very high in my list of rock and roll legends (Incidentally, Jack Scott attends Jason D. Williams performances with his wife Barbara whenever possible.). Jimmy “Cadillac Crumb” Davis also played with Ace Cannon in the 80’s and early 90’s.Jimmy has recently recorded a solo CD, “Bohemian Existentialist.” It was recorded at Conch West Records in Key West. On bass is Mike Harber, who has also played for Jason D. Williams for 24 years, and has also played with, live or recorded, with the likes of George Jones, Isaac Hayes, David Sanborn, Wynonna, Tanya Tucker, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dusty Rhodes, Charlie Rich, Tony Joe White and many others.

Chris Sechler, Jason D. Williams’ drummer, is the “baby” of the group, and has “only” played with Jason for about 12 years. Chris has also played with many other stars, but he feels that playing with Jason is the most creative, challenging, fun and nurturing job anyone could ever ask for.

One of the challenges the band faces every time they play with Jason is that, after 24 years, they have never seen a set list. I laugh out loud when I say this, because at every rockabilly festival that I cover for the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, I always ask, and usually get, the band’s set list because it is difficult for me to observe, take pictures and write down everything I need to while the band is playing. The point is that Jason D. Williams has never rehearsed for a show or written any type of set list with his band. It’s all ad-hoc and “stream-of-consciousness.” Think William Faulkner!

Jason said to me, “My music is somewhere in between rockabilly, classical, jazz, blues – I’m sort of a mixture of Jerry Lee Lewis-meets Andy Warhol-meets Jackson Pollock. It’s a big mix, so certain audiences ask for different things, and we’re able to open up for Kenny Chesney or play in the biggest auditoriums or small venues.”

I asked Jason about his mentor, Sleepy LaBeef, and Jason said “Oh! Sleepy’s the greatest guy that I know of. He was a mentor of mine.” Jason told me that when he was first on tour with Sleepy in the late 70’s, he took a cab to get from Boston to Kittery, Maine. Jason thought it would be a nice, short cab ride. When he arrived at his destination and had to pay $350 for the cab fare, Sleepy started chasing him all around the cab!

When I asked Jason who his early influences were, he replied that he had a cousin named Richard Leo Johnson, who played the guitar. Oscar Peterson was an early influence on piano. Jason also spoke of another influence from Arkansas, Louis Jordan. When I recalled that Johnny Cash was also born in Arkansas, Jason said, “Well you know, if you take that whole little 250 mile radius – Jerry Lee, Charlie Rich, Elvis Presley, Sleepy LaBeef, Johnny Cash…the whole bunch, they all came from that area. Maybe it’s in the water.”

Jason is unashamed, even proud, that the audience quickly sees in him many musical and physical characteristics of Jerry Lee Lewis. Although it is true that Jason D. Williams sings many of the songs Jerry Lee Lewis performed, and looks a lot like the younger Jerry Lee Lewis, it certainly is not a Jerry Lee Lewis tribute show.

Jason and the band open the show. Jim, the taciturn fellow,

I refer to in the article, can be seen at the lower left.

Early in his first set, Jason D. Williams started playing “Hava-Nagila” in a country/blues arrangement – and then pronounced into the microphone, “You just heard Hava-Nagila from Arkansas!” We heard some Jerry Lee Lewis standards such as “High School Confidential,” “Drinkin’ Wine Spodie Odie,” and a couple of other songs frequently performed by Jerry Lee Lewis. We also heard some jazz, “Jingle Bells,” a Louis Jordan-type arrangement of “Caldonia” “April Showers,” (Al Jolson sang that song in 1920), Ray Charles’ arrangement of “What I Say,” Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow,” Lionel Richie’s “Like Sunday Morning,” Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys’ “Stay a Little Longer” (co-written by Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, one of Bob Wills’ lead singers), some Hank Williams – “Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To Do” and “Cold Cold Heart,” plus “What Made Milwaukee Famous” (another song done frequently by the Killer), his own unique arrangement of “La Cooka Racha,” Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill,” and when Jason D. broke into the Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace” (another song that’s part of Jerry Lee Lewis’s live repertoire), the 55-plus audience got out of their seats, and started to sing along with it.

550+ people enjoy the performance

(you can see one of the TV monitors to the right).

Jason D. Williams certainly has a charismatic way of reaching his audience. There was one fellow in the audience sitting right in front of Jason D. Williams who remained expressionless during the entire two-set performance. His name was Jim, and Jason D. Williams kept talking to him in between each song, with the rest of the audience laughing loudly because Jim had a stone-face expression all night. During the second set, Jason D. Williams looked down at Jim and said, “Hey Jim, I hope you are enjoying the show. You know, where you are sitting is usually where some very beautiful women usually sit to enjoy my show, and I want you to know that it’s a real pleasure to play for you tonight!” The Audience roared with laughter and I heard after the show from many that Jim was always like that (and I wondered how he got the best seat in the house).

No one can sit still, most especially J.D.W.

I’m including pictures in this article of Jason D. Williams’ performance, but he moves so fast it’s difficult to capture exactly what he is really like in person.

The band behind Jason, left to right:

Mike Harber on bass, Chris Sechler on drums,

and Jimmy “Cadillac Crumb” Davis on guitar.

Jason has everybody movin’!

They say Paul Butterfield could play harmonica backwards & upside down.

Looks like Jason D. Williams does it with a piano!

Does this remind you of “The Killer?”

Jason is flattered by the comparison!

Not mentioned in the article, Jason does some great

percussion with drumsticks on his piano.

Was the crowd into it?

You betcha!

It just keeps getting better.

They used to say the late Conway Twitty was

“the greatest friend a song ever had.”

That’s often true of Jason D. Williams’ arrangements.

When the first set was over Jason and the band received a standing ovation, and during the 30 minute intermission, many people came up to the autograph table set up for Jason D. Williams and his band. Jason signed CD’s which were being sold, and spoke to all the people around him. I did not see one person leave the building, and I could tell by the enthusiasm of the crowd that they were really enjoying his performance.

Jimmy and Jason sign CD’s and chat with

Some of the crowd during the intermission.

Yep, the folks kept stoppin’ by.

Just when Jason’s band was re-introducing him at the beginning of the second set, Jason was stepping out of a door in back of the crowd, and stopped briefly so I could take a picture of him. Then he got me up from my chair and said, “Hey Barry, stretch your arm out and take a picture of both of us together.” I had never done that, and you can tell when you see it! My wife Linda thought it was funny, and told me to include it.

My lousy extended-arm picture as Jason makes

his way to the stage at the beginning of the second set.

When Jason D. Williams got on the stage for the second act, he shared with the audience the fact that his wife Jennifer had to rush home to take care of their 5-year old boy, who was ill, and the first song of the second set he dedicated to Jennifer. The song was “Red Hot,” a song that was recorded by Jason D. Williams on one of his more recent CD’s. “Red Hot” is practically the “National Anthem of Rockabilly,” and many people attribute the song to Billy Lee Riley, who did a great version of this song and recorded it in 1957 for Sam Phillips on the Sun label. But it was Billy “The Kid” Emerson who wrote and originally recorded it for Sam Phillips in 1955, the pre-Elvis era when most of the Sun recording artists were black. Billy Lee Riley did have a hit with it and his performances, both on record and in person, are still many people’s favorite arrangement of that song. This song has been also recorded by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Robert Gordon, Sleepy LaBeef, The Tomcats, Rick Derringer, The Prowlers, Bob Luman and of course, more recently, Jason D. Williams. Jason dedicated “Red Hot” to his pretty wife Jennifer, and the audience gave him a thunderous ovation. One more ditty on “Red Hot”: a few years ago Billy Bob Thornton covered “Red Hot” with a “pure” arrangement almost identical to Billy “The Kid” Emerson’s original recording.

This is quite a feet!

What’s that guy going to do next??

THAT!

Now for a drum duet.

For those not right at the stage.

Some folks start getting closer to the stage.

See what I mean!

Ditto!

The Grand Finale!

To the last note, the audience was enthralled and appreciative of the performance by Jason and his band!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JASON D. WILLIAMS, INCLUDING UPCOMING APPEARANCES, CLICK HERE: www.rockinjasondwilliams.com.

Barry Klein has written over 40 reviews, interviews, and articles for the Rockabilly Hall of Fame since 1999.

His book, “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll”, was published in 1997. To contact Barry, email him at bmk@bmkre.com