Grey Ghost
b. Roosevelt Thomas Williams, 7 December 1903, Bastrop, Texas, USA. For blues researchers, Williams lived up to his nickname for most of his life, known only as a reported influence on Mercy Dee. Williams hoboed around the southwest performing from the '20s to the late '40s, until he settled in Austin. He was recorded by a folklorist in 1940 (Hitler Blues) and was also recorded after his retirement in 1965. None of these recordings was issued until 1987. Despite an out-of-tune piano, he was clearly a major player in the tradition of the Santa Fe group that included Robert Shaw, Buster Pickens and Pinetop Burks. Grey also had a working pianist's repertoire of ballads and pop songs. Recorded again in 1988, he played a remarkably strident version of Somebody Stole My Gal, which, though slower, was still very impressive