Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Joe Williams (December 12, 1918 - March 29, 1999) was a well-known jazz singer. He was born Joseph Goreed Williams in Georgia and moved to Chicago as a child. He rose to national prominence as the singer for Count Basie's Orchestra in 1954. He remained with Basie for several years. "Everyday I have the Blues" is his biggest hit. Bill Cosby cast Williams as his father "Grandpa Al" in a recurring role on the 1980s sit-com The Cosby Show. Williams enjoyed a successful career right until his death. He died at age 80, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.