Lil' Ed Interview

Together for 40 years, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials will release their first album in 10 years with a release party at FitzGerald's in Berwyn on Feb. 27, 2026. And we do mean PARTY!

Story and Photos: Peter M. Hurley

Photo: by Peter Hurley

Lil' Ed talks about Slideways, JB Hutto, his songwriting process and more

By Peter Hurley

We arrange to meet before the gig at “Chicago’s Friendliest Blues Lounge,” Rosa’s Lounge, where Little Ed’ Williams holds down the Thursday night slot with a rotating band of cream-of-the-crop players tagged as Rosa’s All Stars: Ed leads on guitar, slide and vocals, Thaddeus Krolicki complements on second guitar, Arriyo takes the keys, Harlan Terson backs on bass and venue owner Tony Mangiullo lays down the tempo on drums. Blues legends Willie Buck and Bob Stoger stroll in for an appearance and Lil’ Ed will soon assume leadership as master of ceremonies.

 An electricity exists wherever Ed performs; it is his stock in trade. The veteran blues man is enthusiasm personified and never disappoints his fans, many who go back 40 years when Ed first formed his regular band The Blues Imperials. This night’s energy was also boosted by Ed’s delight over the imminent release of his 10^th album on Alligator Records called Slideways, a tour de force that showcases their signature house rockin’ style—turbo-charged by Ed’s signature slide guitar virtuosity and strongly influenced by his mentor and uncle, J.B. Hutto. Bandmates for over 40 years, The Blues Imperials— guitarist Mike Garrett, James “Pookie” Young on bass and drummer Kelly Littleton -- are as solid as a rock, the kind that rattles and rocks the house walls.

As the club slowly fills, Lil’ Ed sits relaxing at the table with a bottled beer before the storm of the night’s performance begins. We chat about his new CD and upcoming plans.

PETER M. HURLEY for CHICAGO BLUES GUIDE: Slideways is your 10^th record on Alligator Records. And you co-produced this one with Bruce Iglauer (founder, producer and CEO of Alligator). Have you been co-producing all along?

LIL’ ED WILLIAMS: Pretty much. I started working with Bruce on Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits (the band’s sophomore release on Alligator in 1989) and we've been doing it ever since.

PMH: What’s it like to confer with another on how a session is conducted?

ED: Well, we negotiate. (He laughs.)

PMH: I'm really interested in your songwriting; you're so prolific. How did this new album come about and have you been stockpiling material?

ED: I’d been talking one up a while back but, I really wanted to record. My last release was The Big Sound of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials in 2016. But since the pandemic, everything had kind of flattened. Nobody was doing anything.

PMH: So this is the first one since before the pandemic?  That's a long stretch without new music. Did you draw from material that you had on hand or did scheduling new sessions inspire you to start writing again?

ED: I started writing right at that moment.  I’d been feeling around for some stuff, you know, 

tiddling and tattling,because I play my guitar all the time,day and night.  So I was just 

riffing here and there. 

And when Alligator said they were ready to go, I started putting stuff together. My wife and I toss ideas and lyrics around; we feed off each other.

PMH: So writing for Slideways came quickly?

ED: Oh yeah. It just comes from the way I feel at that time, you know, and what I'm talking about. Life is so… it's enjoyment, it's frustration, it’s heartache…it's all kinds of different experiences that we go through in life. And the words just come to me as I live, you know.

PMH: Your song titles, album titles and lyrical hooks sound like folk wisdom with a modern spin. You seem to tap into the blues tradition of coining catch phrases and expressions that feel like they’ve been around forever. But many of them you make up, right? On the new album, for instance, you’ve got “One Foot on The Gas and One on the Brake” and “You Can’t Strike Gold From a Silver Mine.”

ED: Yeah, “One Foot on the Brake….,” that's one of my wife's, she came up with that. You know what? When she made that song, it immediately made me think about a buddy of mine. He used to drive like that. But it's also like an old saying, like, I got this tension going.  One voice is urging me stop, but another says I got to go. What it’s about is that this guy picked up this girl, trying to get her to be his lady. But she's telling him, “Don't worry about that, just keep moving. And keep watching where you're going.”(He laughs.)

PMH: And “You Can't Get Gold from a Silver Mine.”

ED: My wife borrowed that line, made a title out of it. And that's about a girl that came up with everything. She came up with everything, but

she went to the wrong people. And then she met the wrong guy. He treated her bad, you know. 

PMH: And what's the one about the “car wash skirt?” That’s a great turn of phrase.

ED: That’s “The Flirt in the Car Wash Skirt.” You see, this was inspired by my life because when me and my wife first met, she was wearing a skirt that reminded me of those wash flaps you see moving the suds around on your windows and sides when you drive through an automatic car wash. Yeah, so she was wearing that skirt. That's how we met, in Ohio, she used to live around in that area. She’d seen and heard me before, but when I first noticed her, she’s out on the floor dancing by herself, and she's got on this wonderful skirt with those flaps that are spinning around in a circular fashion – like, if you moved your car up alongside her, it’d be clean in no time.

PMH: (He laughs) You mean like those old ‘50s skirts with the pleats?

ED: Yeah, the pleats.

PMH: That's hilarious, man; I can see exactly what you’re saying. Now, on to your uncle J.B. (Joseph Benjamin) Hutto. I first heard him in the ‘60s on that Vanguard compilation album, The Chicago Blues Today Vol. 1, with Junior Wells and Otis Spann. That is a great record.  And he was playing that signature slide. He was from your mom’s side?

ED: My mom was his sister, yeah. 

PMH: I remember his sound so well. And he wore that fez. Where did that come from?

ED:  He told me a guy gave him that from Africa, and it stood for king.

PMH: So, he had the feel of royalty about him. 

ED: Yes, he did. He was special.

He did some fantastic things. He used to come over. We had this really big backyard, see? We were living on Lake and Paulina. And we were surrounded by these big buildings. They weren't projects then,

 they called them “honeymoon buildings” because so many people were in them. And we had this really huge backyard, you know, and had an enormous porch. We could walk halfway through the lot on this big porch. So, one day we—me, my sisters and my brother, looked up and saw Uncle J.B. coming through the gate with his whole band.  And my auntie and my other uncle started setting these garbage cans up, see, stacking them up one after another. They started low, then they'd get higher and higher; getting ready for a party.  And Uncle J.B. started playing, and everybody's shuffling and dancin’ and dust was flying. And we looked around, and Uncle J.B.'s walking these garbage cans.

PMH: Like a king!

ED: Yeah, like he was walkin’ up steps up to a throne. He's walking these garbage cans like a king. It was so amazing to see that. That was his act for that party.

PMH: That's fantastic. So, at about what age were you when you asked J.B. to show you some stuff?

ED: Well, he would play in my house. They'd all go into one room. My great grandma would be in the dining area at my house. Yeah, they would go in there and they'd start playing and drinking, you know. And I was always peeping in. They didn't allow the kids in there with the grown-ups at that time, but I was always peeping in. And he called me, he said, “Come here, boy.” And I thought I was getting ready to get it— a real good whooping, you know. And he said, “What are you looking at?“ I said, “I’m looking at your guitar, J.B.” And he said, “You want to play this thing?” I said, “Yeah!” He said, “Okay, I'll teach you how to play. But first you got to do something for me.” The next time he came over, he had a set of drums. He said, “I'm going to teach you how to play these drums so you can follow me, see.” He wanted me to get the beat, see? He was working me from the bottom up.

PMH: That’s brilliant. I read that that’s the way he came up, too; from the drums to piano to guitar.

ED: Yeah. And I'm learning the tempo. And then after a while he handed me a guitar, and he goes, “Okay, I want you to play this.” So, he started showing me how to play one note. And here's the kicker to all

 this: Uncle J.B. was leaving to go out of town, but I had two more uncles besides him; my youngest uncle, they used to call him Little Percy Mayfield because he sung all the Percy Mayfield songs.And my oldest uncle, they called him Howlin' Wolf because he'd 

sing a lot of  Wolf's songs. 

So, here I am playing this one tune, just one tune, and I'm playing it for everybody in the house for 6 months, man!

PMH: What was the tune?

ED: It was just some straight up 12-bar blues, that's what it was. And that's the first thing Uncle J.B. taught me. He said, “when I come back, you'll have it.” And he was right. Because every week, my other uncles would say “Come on over here and play it.” And they'd sing every song that went to those changes - fast, slow, whatever. And so many songs can go on top of that progression. And then with J.B., he’d come over and sing Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James. So that's how I came up, that's how I learned a lot of old songs

.

PMH: Those artists’ work cover a huge territory right there.

ED: Absolutely. So, when when Bruce first heard me, I was doing Percy Mayfield's stuff and John Lee Hooker's stuff at the time. And he walked up and said, “Where did you learn those songs from?” 

Because he couldn't believe, young as I was, I was singing these old, really old songs.

PMH: When did JB - how long did he live? When did he pass?

ED: He passed in the ‘80s, ’83 I think it was. Yeah, somewhere around that era. He was 57. I was about 32 or so.

PMH: Was he still playing?

ED: No, he had got cancer, cancer in his shoulder.  And it took away his shoulder. And then it went up to his neck.

PMH: That’s really sad. But you made it a point to keep his legacy alive?

ED: I did. That’s why I wear the hat that he used to wear. And he’s alive in what I devote my music to.

PMH: And not only are you known for house rocking, you also dig deep when playing slow blues too. There are a couple of really nice slow blues on “Slideways,” such as “Homeless Blues.”  That's tasty. Did you pen that?

ED: No, I got that from Blind Lemon Jefferson, I think—part of it, a slice of it. I added some verses in there. It caught my heart. It just— something hit me.  I got it on a disc of mine. 

Never heard nobody sing a song called “Homeless Blues.” And I was trying to figure what he was singing about way back in the ‘30s. Yeah, way back during the Depression.  And that's what it was all about. And it made me think about the pandemic. Because when the pandemic hit, I got a job working at a car wash, right? I had to, there were no gigs, nothing was out there.

And I passed by the parks and all these people that are standing out. They're everywhere, man, and I said to myself, “Where are they going, what are they looking for?” Because, you know, they do have homeless shelters. But people in general are different in life. Some can’t take orders. A lot of those people at a certain age, they don't want to be told what to do. Mental illness and all kinds of stuff.

When you look at those people, you know they should be in a place, but their mental capacity isnot going to let them go. And then cops pick them up, put them in there, they come right back out.

On my way to the studio when we were making this album, there's a viaduct just before you get there.

And there’s stuff that's stacked up.  People are laying everywhere. Like a village. 

Then the cops come clean it out but, when you go back they're all right back again. 

I feel bad. I wish they could work their way out of that. That's what “Homeless Blues” is all about.

PMH: That's slow and deep, a real heavy blues. And there's another slow blues further down the record.

ED: Wayward Women? Yeah, yeah. That's my wife's song. 

PMH: It's about her or she helped write it?

ED: That’s her just lettin’ me know. You see, I meet tons of people as a performer; she’s tellin’ me, ”Just be careful what you do when you're out there.” She didn't know blues people love to hug and kiss; “Oh, baby, how you doing?”          

PMH: And you can't change that, can you?

ED:She looked at me, she's like, “No, this is not going to happen.” (He laughs.) I mean, I said, “Those are my fans,I'm not trying to do nothing.” She goes,“Yeah, but you're going to have to slow down.” (He laughs again.)

PMH: But now she's used to it?

ED: Yeah, now she's like, “Oh, that's Eddie. That's just Ed being Ed.”

PMH:Yeah,well, you do have that infectious personality on stage, man. I imagine it attracts a lot of energy; it makes people feel good.

ED:People like to see me have fun. Yeah. And that's what I do. But I ain't goin’ nowhere. My wife and I have been together 30 years. Now where am I going? Nobody else is going to hold me. (He laughs.) I love her.

PMH: Speaking of staying together, your band has been going for 40 years.

ED:Yeah, 40 years.

PMH:That's remarkable. All four of you guys. You on vocal and guitar, Mike Garrett on guitar James “Pookie” Young (Ed’s half-brother) on bass and Kelly Littleton on drums. That's unbelievable. That's got to be a Chicago record. 

ED:  That comes from J.B. He gave me the knowledge. And I actually went by exactly what he told me. He told me, “First of all, you ain't gonna get rich doing this. Don't think you're gonna get rich.  And I didn't like to hear that because I was thinking otherwise. But sure enough, 40 years later...” 

PMH: He was right? 

ED: Yeah, he was right on. (He laughs.)

PMH:I think that's amazing, you know, because, well, many marriages don't last that  

long.  God knows, bands don't last that long.

ED:They get in trouble with each other, or they start fighting. 

Yeah, but you know, like I said, he told me to respect my guys.

 Don't be going off on them because if they make a mistake or they do something

 that you don't like, just talk to them later.

Because when I first started with my guys, I was trying to be

 Mr. “Hey, I'm the man, I'm the guy,” you know? But J.B. turned that around. He heard me talking like that, and he said, “Come here. Let me tell you something.”

He sat me down and told me, “Shut your mouth and don't say a word.”

That J.B. was something. Looking at him was hypnotizing, baby. Because I knew he was serious. Nobody else knew because he smiled all the time. And he laughed all the time. So, even though he was upset, he was still laughing.

But I knew from the look in his eye. Yeah, yeah, that he meant business. 

He told me to treat them with respect and they’ll treat you with respect.Pay them to the best of your ability,

and make sure you acknowledge them when you play. And I did it. I still do it.

PMH: He laid down the law.

ED: Here's the deal: I was raised from watching my uncle. J.B. was the clown of the family.He kept everybody laughing. When he'd come over, there was no hatred. There were no arguments. It was all laughter and fun. He'd leave there, we'd be rolling on our knees, man, laughing. And I inherited that. And my little brother James (Pookie) is like that too. Yeah. So now... When we get with my family, I'm the clown of the family, it’s a way of being. I keep them laughing- but it’s also a lot of hard work.

PMH: So, did he pass his hats down to you, or you just sort of took that up as an homage?

ED: The last time we talked, He said,

“Don't  try to play like me. Play like yourself,” he said, “but keep my legacy alive.” And the only thing I could think of to keep his legacy alive was to be recognizable to his fans. People recognize J.B. with these hats!

They sure do. And when I wear one, people walk up and go, “Your uncle used to wear one of them!” That's where I got it.

PMH And slide playing, right? Did he use different open tunings with his slide?

ED: I think he did open E and open D.  But you see, I took it a level up because I do open F# .

That's where you get the real unique tones. Yeah, like in “Homeless Blues” and “If I Should Lose Your Love,” that's a good one, too. Actually, my wife wrote that. She knows when I sing that, I'm talking to her.

PMH: Are you going to go out on the road soon?

ED: Oh yeah, we're getting ready. I'm pretty sure we're going to have a lot of stuff scheduled out there. Right now, we've got a 17day tour, we're going out to hit the East Coast. We're going to cover it in March after we celebrate our CD release at Fitzgerald’s on February 27^th.

PMH: That's why I wanted to catch you this week, because I knew you'd be gone after that.

ED: Well, I’m glad you did. I appreciate it. And it's been great to talk to you. 

PMH: Likewise, Ed. It’s a real pleasure. And can’t wait to hear you play now!

Lil’ Ed goes to work. A celebratory vibe radiates from the talent-packed stage while the excited full house reflects it back. A monthly gathering of “Blues dancers” who meet under the name of Bluetopia fill the dance floor and the joint commences to jump.

The party will continue on Friday, Feb. 27 at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn for Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials’ album release party.

To stream or purchase Slideways: https://www.alligator.com/

Artist website: https://www.liledblues.com/

About The Author: Peter M. Hurley is a photographer/writer/artist whose interest in Blues began as a young boy upon first hearing the distinctive and haunting Chess Records sound of Bo Diddley. Exposure to Little Walter, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in later years led him to further discover more Blues originators. After many years as an artist, Mr. Hurley shifted his visual focus, bringing his painterly sensibilities to the art of photographing musicians in the throes of performance on Chicago Blues stages. Combining music and visual art goes to the heart of what he had felt growing up with rock 'n roll and then discovering its source: the Blues.