Sweet Emmalina-Clarence Williams Jazz Kings:1928

Clarence Williams, was one of the primary pianists on scores of blues records recorded in New York during the 1920s. He supervised African American recordings (the 8000 race series) for the New York offices of Okeh phonograph company in the 1920s in the Gaiety Theatre office building in Times Square.He recruited many of the artists who performed on the label. He also recorded extensively, leading studio bands frequently for OKeh, Columbia and occasionally other record labels.
He mostly used "Clarence Williams' Jazz Kings" for his hot band sides and "Clarence Williams' Washboard Five" for his washboard sides. He also produced and participated in early recordings by Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith, Virginia Liston, Irene Scruggs, his niece Katherine Henderson, and others. Two of his 1924 recording bands, "The Red Onion Jazz Babies" and "Clarence Williams' Blue Five" featured cornetist Armstrong and soprano saxophonist Bechet, two of the most important early jazz soloists, in their only recordings together before the 1940s. Clarence Williams' Blue Five, a studio band only, formed after the success of King Oliver's recordings in order to explore the market for blues-oriented music. The rivalry between Armstrong and Bechet, who tried to outdo each other with successive solo breaks, is exemplified in "Cake Walkin' Babies from Home", the most celebrated of these performances, which survives in versions recorded by both bands. Although the narrative of a rivalry during these recordings is frequently discussed in scholarship, Armstrong and Bechet do have moments of friendly collaboration, such as the shared break in "Texas Moaner Blues." King Oliver played cornet on a number of Williams's late 1920s recordings. He was the recording director for the short-lived QRS Records label in 1928.

Most of his recordings were songs from his publishing house, which explains why he recorded tunes like "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Close Fit Blues" and "Papa De-Da-Da" numerous times.Among his own compositions was "Shout, Sister, Shout" (1929), which was recorded by him, and also covered by the Boswell Sisters, in 1933.