Royal Garden Blues
(Spencer Williams, Clarence Williams; 1921)

• Clarence Williams was hit by a New York City taxi cab and lost his eyesight, but continues to compose.
• He ran away from home at age 12 to join a minstrel show where he worked as a singer and dancer.
• Outside his musical pursuits, Clarence Williams worked as a publisher and later ran a hobby shop in Harlem.
• He was married to singer Eva Taylor.
• Spencer Williams was active as a composer and pianist until the late 1920's when he gave up music.
• Royal Gardens was a famous dance hall in Chicago.

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