The first time the entire body of his Fortune recordings are in one place, this 2-CD set represents square-one for Andre Williams and the deepest blues and rhythm roots from which he grew his “bad boy” rock ‘n’ roll sensibility. In the same way his friend Ike Turner created a modern, post-blues persona from his Mississippi to Memphis arc, Andre carved his from the doo-wop genre in Detroit – a cousin city of Memphis for its own unique mix of country and blues. This set contains the record that put Andre on the map, “Bacon Fat”, which was a legendary contribution to an era that mapped the land of a thousand dances, and with tracks like “Jail Bait”, the compilation also portrays the stirrings of his envelope pushing sexuality. As a whole, A Fortune of Hits contains the single greatest body of work that contributes to the legend of Andre Williams.
Excerpt from liner notes: “After living at my friend’s pad for a little bit I decided I had to do something to help with the rent and food. I figured at worst I could shine shoes, so I’m walking past the Warfield theatre and I saw a sign for a talent show: ‘sing, dance, whatever you can do, there’s a $25 prize!’ I came back for the talent show with the few nice clothes I had. I went out there and sang ‘Failing By Degrees’. Took the prize money home, gave some to my friend’s mother, had some change left, and said to myself … this is what I’m gonna continue doing.”
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