Blues Before Sunrise: The Radio Interviews

Grey Ghost

Grey ghost r.t.williams, known to blues fans as the Grey Ghost, was among the last of the itineranttexas blues pianists. For more than three decades these pianists hoboed from town to town, juke joint to barrelhouse in prewartexas.they seldom settled in any one place, hitchhiking and hopping trains to get from destination to destination. In the glory days of their genre there were scores—perhaps hundreds—of roaming pianists displaying every level of talent and technique. Ironically, with all the players traveling and performing, only a lucky few managed to make records: rob Cooper, Andy Boy, Dusky Dailey, Black Boy Shine, Black Ivory King, Pinetop Burks, Son Becky, Big Boy Knox, Curtis Jones, andwhistling Alex Moore. the great majority never had the opportunity to record and left us with only a list of colorful names.the years after world war II were not kind to these pianists; the advent of the jukebox, the electric guitar, and changing tastes in music put an end to the popularity of the itineranttexas blues pianists .Among the survivors of this genre were a hardscrabble group that included Mercy Dee walton, robert Shaw, Lavada Durst, Buster Pickens—and the Grey Ghost. the Grey Ghost was another of the bluesmen I interviewed as he appeared at the University of Chicago Folk Festival.the Grey Ghost was accompanied on his trip to Chicago by his manager,tary Owens. we made arrangements to do an interview with the pianist during his threegrey ghost. Photo by maryann Price. day stay in Chicago. One of my friends remembers the Grey Ghost as a complete misanthrope—reticent and disagreeable at all times. I, on the other hand, recall the Ghost and our interview with fond memories. I’ve always had an affection for cranky old men—perhaps one reason why I’ve gotten so many good interviews out of old-timers—and regard the saltiness as a part of the screening process these old folks use to keep strangers at arm’s length, generally, before they warm up to them.tary sat in on the interview and helped explain details that the Grey Ghost might overlook. the Grey Ghost never made any commercial recordings during his prime in the 1930s and ’40s, but made a pair of fabulous recordings for the Library of Congress in 1942, which bear out his piano-playing abilities. this interview was conducted on February 9, 1988. r. t. williams—the Grey Ghost—died in Austin in 1996. ■ ■ ■ I was born in Bastrop, Texas, a little bitty place. You throw a rock over it with a slingshot. About 1903. December the seventh. They bombed Pearl Harbor on my birthday. When I used to throw off people—I’d put ’em on about it, say, “I’m mad they bombed Pearl Harbor. Why’d they pick out my birthday to do that?” But they didn’t know I existed. They just bombed it on that day, though, December seventh. What’s your real name, and how did the “Grey Ghost” come about? Roosevelt Thomas Williams. I don’t use it; I sign all my usually signatures R. T. Williams. That’s too much to put on a small envelope. All them words got a lot of letters on ’em. Roosevelt Thomas and the Williams. Small envelope, you don’t write awful small, you run out of space. But Uncle Sam wants your whole name when you fool with him. Sometime you might get a letter with Roosevelt T. Williams, according to what it is. But he wants your full name. Maybe you can explain to folks where the name the Grey Ghost came from. Well, that come out of Smithville. Mr. Yagen Hill, them high-class people there, they give them big dances and I’d be in Amarillo or somewhere. Jack Craft, a friend of mine, he worked for ’em—chauffeured and cooked meals— and they’d get him to get in touch with me. Tell me they wanted to have a party or a big outfit up over the city hall, and the day, and if I could come. Asked me if I could come and I’d let him know. Then they’d get me word back the day they wanted me to play for their outfit. And I’d tell ’em I’d be there. So they’d go ahead and go to a lot of trouble spending and fixing for that certain day. And grey ghost 53 [3.15.190...