Artist Andre Williams

Now in his mid-70s, the suit-and-tie-clad Andre Williams might look like someone’s kindly old grandfather, but he definitely doesn’t act the part: When was the last time you heard your granddaddy singing about how pussy and marijuana both stink? As the bluesman’s 50-year career in music has progressed, Williams has only gotten raunchier and prouder of it. He infamously was kicked out of his senior-housing center for drug possession in 2007, and although he cleaned up with rehab shortly before recording 2010’s That’s All I Need, Williams still has plenty to say even while sober. Whether boasting about his prowess in bed on “Tricks” or taking stock of his hard living on “Cigarettes And My Old Lady,” he’s always been about taking listeners along for a joyride. His most recent, Hoods And Shades, is an all-acoustic affair he describes as the “Andre Williams folk album.”

Updated 03/15/2012