Facts on John Earl Williams

Monday, June 2, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

HOMETOWN: Dallas-Fort Worth.

OCCUPATION: Blues singer, band leader, disc jockey.

PERSONAL: Williams and his wife, Shirley, have an 11-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.

EDUCATION: Majored in drama and minored in music at East Texas State University teacher's college in 1967-68 and again in 1970-71.

JOHN EARL THESPIAN: Williams was part of the East Texas State University drama department that won the American College Theatre Festival, "out of 10,000 schools," in 1971. Williams says he had about a dozen lines and played the harmonica in "The Time of Your Life."

BLUES EDUCATION: "My dad was in the used-car business, and from the time I was about 7, I worked as a detail boy with his crew. In other words, cleaning ashtrays and vacuuming. Anyhow, most of the guys that worked for him were black, and blues and R&B were all they listened to. It was the first music that got into my soul."

OFF TO EUROPE: Williams began what would be an extended stay in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1974, when a college friend opened a casino and wanted an American blues band to provide the entertainment. Booked for three months, he ended up staying 11 1/2 years. "I loved the people. The European acceptance of an art form is something to celebrate."

JOHN EARL ENTREPRENEUR: During his stay in Amsterdam, Williams became an owner in two nightclubs and a restaurant. The Last Watering Hole, which he owned from 1976-84, sat 250 people for live music -- much of it provided by Williams and his band. In 1978, he opened a Texas steak house and kept it for four years. In 1979, he co-owned a disco called Cheapskates. "Disco didn't sit well with me, so I sold out in four months."

DARK AGES: Williams left Europe in 1985, wrung out from a life of excess. "It had gotten so dark I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I had to get out of there. The excesses were too accessible. I'd like to say one thing: I wouldn't have spit if it wasn't for my wife and my daughter." Williams met his wife in Amsterdam, where "she was running a casino and I was running into the ground. She shook me and said, 'Let's get out of here.'"

BACK IN THE U.S.: The Williams initially settled in Texas, but moved to Las Vegas in 1986. Williams' sister, who was living here, told him that the band in which her husband (guitarist Scott Reiner) was playing was looking for a harmonica player. That band was The Blues Kings, which had a successful run at the now defunct Bobby's Lounge.

SINGING STYLE: "They used to call Joe Turner a blues shouter," Williams says. "I think I'm pretty much a blues screamer."

SURVIVOR: Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 1995. "I was lucky," he says. "They found it early."

BLUES APPEAL: "Everyone can relate to the blues. If they live another hour, they'll probably experience another form of it. You get the blues because the light turned red, and now you're gonna be late for work again and hear about it from the boss. It's real. It's as real as any musical art form can be."