preview

Mary Lou Williams Research Paper

Good Essays

Musical prodigy Mary Lou Williams, also known as Mary Elfrieda Scruggs, was born on May 8, 1910 in Atlanta, Georgia. She was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along with her 10 half brothers and sisters. The start of Mary Lou’s piano career began when she was able to replay almost perfectly the song her mother played on the family’s pump organ. Her exceptional gift of perfect pitch and teaching from her mom enabled her to play piano on a professional level at the age of four years old. Mary Lou’s birth name was Mary Elfrieda Scruggs but she changed her name to Mary Lou Burly to take her step father’s last name. She later changed her last name to Williams after her first husband. At a young age Mary Lou performed small gigs around Pittsburgh and at the age of 10, she was known everywhere …show more content…

Mary Lou divorced her husband in 1940 and stayed with the Kirk band until 1942. She then went on to New York City and started a weekly radio show called “Mary Lou Williams Piano Workshop” which taught and created a network for pianists everywhere in 1945. It was said that Mary Lou’s NYC apartment was a musical gathering for many upcoming musician’s in the city. Mary Lou decided to take her music internationally and moved to Europe from 1952-1954. However, Mary Lou converted and became a devout Catholic which resulted in her hiatus from creating music. She moved back to New York during 1954 and worked solely on charity in Harlem. She also created an institution to aide musicians and other performers with substance abuse problems called the Bel Canto Foundation. Later on during the 1960’s, Mary Lou went back to composing music that was heavily influenced by her Catholic faith, one of which was called Mary Lou’s Mass. Before Mary Lou Williams passed away from bladder cancer, she established yet another foundation called the Mary Lou Williams Foundation where it teaches children and young adults about

Get Access