Lawrence Edward Williams (1935 - 1980)

Born 10 May 1935 in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Died 7 Jan 1980 at age 44 in Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Larry Williams is Notable.

Larry Williams was an American rock & roll singer and had several hits in the 1950s including "Bony Maronie", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Short Fat Fannie."^[1]

Lawrence Edward Williams was born on 10 May 1935 in New Orleans. His parents were Willie Williams and Mabel Defendeau.^[2] Larry learned to play the piano as a child in New Orleans. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Oakland, California.

His wife's name was Ina Marie.^{[citation needed]}

He was found dead by his mother Mabel in the garage of his Los Angeles home on May 2, 1980.^{[3] [4][5]} He is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.^[6]

Research Notes

I have checked all the usual sources but cannot find his wife. I know his wife was Ina Marie although I did find an Ann Marie who was married to a Lawrence Williams. Also some records record his middle name as Edward not Eugene. Checked to see if there is/was a Fan Club or Appreciation Society but cannot find one. Contacted the Archives Manager at the Archdiocese of New Orleans not to sure if he was Catholic, and she was very helpful and she gave me the following archives at archdiocise-no.org which gives a lot of potential sources. A possible lead is Lloyd Price, another famous singer from that period was allegedly his cousin.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Williams
2. ↑ "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007"
   Ancestry Record 60901 #35181875 (accessed 1 February 2022)
   Name: Larry Williams; Gender: Male; Race: Black; Birth Date: 5 May 1934; Birth Place: New Orleans, Louisiana; Death Date: Jan 1980; Father: Willie R Williams; Mother: Mable Defendeau; SSN: 555541233; Notes: Dec 1956: Name listed as LARRY WILLIAMS.
3. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93960488/obituary-for-larry-williams-aged-44/
4. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP6Q-NQT : 26 November 2014), Lawrence Edward Williams, 02 Jan 1980; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
5. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTCS-PPY : 11 January 2021), Larry Williams, Jan 1980; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
6. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVS-XN19 : 26 July 2019), Larry Williams, 1980; Burial, Inglewood, Los Angeles, California, United States of America, Inglewood Park Cemetery; citing record ID 8486319, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

See also:

• Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-williams-mn0000135024/biography

• Data from Wikipedia-ImDb-Musicbrainz-Freebase

• open, spotify.co.uk-Larry Williams

• www.goldminemag.com-articles meet Larry Williams by Mike Greenblatt

• rock.fandom.com-wiki-Larry Williams

• nostalgiacentral.com-Artists-Larry Williams

• teachrock.org-people-williams-larry

• The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars Google Book

• Bmans Blues Report

• Biography by Stephen Thomas

• Larry Williams on Stage Record recorded in the Uk 1965 Sue Records