Mary Lou Williams

Aliases: Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five
Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars
Mary Lou Williams and Her Kansas City Seven
Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music
Mary Lou Williams Trio
Six Men & a Girl
Real name: Mary Elfrieda Scruggs
Born: May 8, 1910
Died: May 28, 1981
Country: United States
IPI: 00032987071 12 works
Affiliation: ASCAP
Comments: Jazz pianist who, over her career, played in many styles, including stride, swing, hard bop, free and third stream. Williams was also a composer and arranger.
Family: Harold Baker Spouse

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Originals

	Title	Performer	Release date	Covered by
i	Baby Man	Mary Lou Williams Trio	1976	Andrew Cyrille
i	Free Spirits	Mary Lou Williams Trio	1976	John Stubblefield
i	Harmony Grits	Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars	1947	Ida Red
i	Medi II	Mary Lou Williams	October 1974	(2 artists)
	Satchel Mouth Baby	Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five	1944	(28 artists)

Covers by Mary Lou Williams

	Title	Performer	Release date	Originally by
i	A Grand Nite for Swinging	Mary Lou Williams	1964	(unknown)
i	All Blues	Mary Lou Williams Trio	1976	Miles Davis
i	Autumn in New York	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	J. Harold Murray
i	Autumn Leaves	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Yves Montand
i	Azure 'Te	Mary Lou Williams	1993	Unverified
i	Baby Dear	Mary Lou Williams and Her Kansas City Seven	March 1941	Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
i	Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	Aida Ward
i	Birks Works	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Dizzy Gillespie
i	Blue Skies	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	Belle Baker
i	Caravan	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters
i	Caravan	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1952	Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters
i	Carioca	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	Etta Moten
i	Dat Dere	Mary Lou Williams Trio	1976	Bobby Timmons
i	En ce temps-là	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	(unknown)
i	From This Moment On	Mary Lou Williams	March 1952	Doris Day - Orchestra under the direction of Frank Comstock
i	Harmony Blues	Mary Lou Williams and Her Kansas City Seven	March 1941	Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
i	How High the Moon	Mary Lou Williams	May 1946	Frances Comstock & Alfred Drake
i	How High the Moon	Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, Mary Lou Williams	1978	Frances Comstock & Alfred Drake
i	I Can't Get Started	Mary Lou Williams	1976	Bob Hope
i	I Found a New Baby	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	The Dixie Stompers [US1] (Fletcher Henderson)
i	It Ain't Necessarily So	Mary Lou Williams	1964	John W. Bubbles
	It Must Be True	Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars – Vocal Refrain by Mary Osborne	1947	Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra - Vocal Refrain by Bing Crosby
i	Jitterbug Waltz	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	"Fats" Waller and His Rhythm
i	Just You, Just Me	Don Byas - Mary Lou Williams	1954	Ukulele Ike (Cliff Edwards)
i	Lady Be Good	Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, Mary Lou Williams	1978	Walter Catlett
i	Lonely Moments	Mary Lou Williams	May 1946	Boots and His Buddies
i	Love for Sale	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Kathryn Crawford, June Shafer, Ida Pearson and Stella Friend
i	Lover	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	Jeanette MacDonald
i	Lullaby of the Leaves	Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five	May 1944	Adrian Schubert & His Orch. – Vocal Chorus Harold Van Emburgh
i	Lullaby of the Leaves	Don Byas - Mary Lou Williams	1954	Adrian Schubert & His Orch. – Vocal Chorus Harold Van Emburgh
i	Moonglow	Don Byas - Mary Lou Williams	1954	Valaida & Dee Lloyd McKaye
i	Moonglow	Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, Mary Lou Williams	1978	Valaida & Dee Lloyd McKaye
i	My Blue Heaven	Mary Lou Williams	1964	"Kenn" Sisson and His Orchestra
i	My Funny Valentine	Mary Lou Williams	1976	Mitzi Green
i	My Man	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Mistinguett
i	Night and Day	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	Fred Astaire
i	Olinga	Mary Lou Williams	October 1974	Dizzy Gillespie
i	Persian Rug	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	(unknown)
i	Russian Lullaby	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	Douglas Stanbury
i	Seven Come Eleven	Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, Mary Lou Williams	1978	Benny Goodman Sextet
	(She's) He's Funny That Way	Mary Osborne with Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars	1946	Gene Austin
i	Sing Sing Sing / Christopher Columbus	Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, Mary Lou Williams	1978	Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang, Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy
i	S'posin'	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1951	Bob Haring and His Orchestra
i	St. Louis Blues	Mary Lou Williams	May 1944	Prince's Band
i	Surrey with the Fringe on Top	Mary Lou Williams	March 1952	Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts & Betty Garde
i	S'Wonderful	Mary Lou Williams	March 1952	Adele Astaire & Allen Kearns
i	Tea for Two	Six Men & a Girl	1940	Phyllis Cleveland and Jack Barker
i	That's a Plenty	Benny Goodman and Mary Lou Williams	1978	Prince's Band
i	The Jeep Is Jumping	Mary Lou Williams	1976	Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra
i	The Man I Love	Mary Lou Williams	May 1946	Adele Astaire
i	The Pearls	Mary Lou Williams	October 1939	Ferd (Jelly Roll) Morton
i	There's a Small Hotel	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	Doris Carson & Ray Bolger
i	These Foolish Things Remind Me of You	Mary Lou Williams	May 1946	Dorothy Dickson
i	The Sheik of Araby	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1951	Joseph Knecht's Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra
i	Tire, tire l'aiguille	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	Renée Lebas accompagnée par Emil Stern et son orchestre
i	What's Your Story Morning Glory	Mary Lou Williams	1971	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy
i	Willow Weep for Me	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Ted Fiorito & His Orchestra
i	Yes, We Have No Bananas	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1952	Eddie Cantor
i	You're the Cream in My Coffee	Mary Lou Williams	March 1952	Ona Munson and Jack Whiting
i	Zonky	Six Men & a Girl	1940	Clarence Williams & His Jazz Kings

Songs written by Mary Lou Williams

Original songs

Title	Written by	Originally by	Original date	Covered by
A Mellow Bit of Rhythm	Mary Lou Williams, Herman Walden	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy	July 26, 1937	Covered by (3 artists)
Ghost of Love	Jack Lawrence [US1], Mary Lou Williams	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy	October 24, 1938	Covered by (3 artists)
Harmony Grits	Leonard Feather, Mary Lou Williams	Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars	1947	Covered by Ida Red
In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee	Mary Lou Williams, Milton Orient	Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra	July 6, 1949	Covered by (5 artists)
Little Joe from Chicago	Mary Lou Williams, Henry Wells	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy	February 8, 1938	Covered by (7 artists)
Lonely Moments	Mary Lou Williams	Boots and His Buddies	April 6, 1938	Covered by (13 artists)
Medi II	Mary Lou Williams	Mary Lou Williams	October 1974	Covered by (2 artists)
Mess-a-Stomp	Mary Lou Williams	Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy	November 7, 1929	Covered by (2 artists)
Roll 'em	Mary Lou Williams	Benny Goodman and His Orchestra	July 7, 1937	Covered by (5 artists)
Satchel Mouth Baby	Mary Lou Williams	Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five	March 12, 1944	Covered by (28 artists)
Walkin'	Mary Lou Williams, Lindsay Steele	Nat "King" Cole with Billy May's Orchestra	September 4, 1951	Covered by (4 artists)
What's Your Story Morning Glory	Paul Francis Webster, Jack Lawrence [US1], Mary Lou Williams	Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy	October 25, 1938	Covered by (33 artists)

Releases

Albums

Title	Performer	Release date	Label
Don Carlos Meets Mary Lou	Don Byas - Mary Lou Williams	1954	Vogue
Free Spirits	Mary Lou Williams Trio	1976	SteepleChase
From the Heart	Mary Lou Williams	1971	Chiaroscuro
Giants	Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Hackett, Mary Lou Williams	1971	Perception Records
Mary Lou	Mary Lou Williams	December 1954	EmArcy
Mary Lou Williams	Mary Lou Williams	1964	Mary Records
Mary Lou Williams	Mary Lou Williams	July 1944	Asch Recordings
Mary Lou Williams Live at the Cookery	Mary Lou Williams	1976	Chiaroscuro
Mary Lou Williams Trio	Mary Lou Williams Trio	November 1944	Asch Recordings
Piano Panorama	Mary Lou Williams	March 1952	Atlantic
Piano Solos	Mary Lou Williams	May 1946	Disc
Zodiac Suite - The Complete Town Hall Concert of December 31, 1945	Mary Lou Williams	1993	Vintage Jazz Classics
Zoning	Mary Lou Williams	October 1974	Mary Records

Singles

Title	Performer	Release date	Label
Handy Eyes	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1951	Circle
It Must Be True	Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars	1947	RCA Victor
Lullaby of the Leaves	Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five	May 1944	Asch Recordings
Mary Lou Williams Blues	Six Men & a Girl	1940	Varsity
Satchel Mouth Baby - Misty Blues	Mary Lou and Her Chosen Five - Jerry Jerome and His Cats & Jammers	1944	Asch Recordings
Scratchin' the Gravel	Six Men & a Girl	1940	Varsity
(She's) He's Funny That Way – D. D. T.	Mary Osborne – Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars	1946	Continental [US-NY]
The Pearls	Mary Lou Williams	October 1939	Decca
Walking	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1951	Circle
Yes, We Have No Bananas	Mary Lou Williams and Her Modern Music	1952	Circle

Performances also appear on

	Title	Performer	Release date	Label
	Kansas City Jazz	various artists	March 1941	Decca
	Live at Carnegie Hall - 40th Anniversary Concert	Benny Goodman and Various Artists	1978	London Records

Tributes

Title	Performer	Release date	Label
Celebrating Mary Lou Williams - Live At Birdland New York	Trio 3 + Geri Allen	July 4, 2011	Intakt Records
Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Mary Lou Williams	Marian McPartland	1994	Concord Jazz
Mary Lou Williams - The Next 100 Years	Virginia Mayhew Quartet with Special Guest Wycliffe Gordon	August 16, 2011	Renma Recordings
The Lady Who Swings the Band - Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams	Dutch Jazz Orchestra	2005	Challenge Records