Nat D. Williams
Aged unknown
Wikidata WikipediaNathaniel Dowd Williams (October 19, 1907 – October 27, 1983), known as Nat D. Williams or simply Nat D., was an American high school teacher, disc jockey on Black Appeal radio, journalist and editor. He was born on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Known for his ‘’jive’’ patter on the air, Williams had 10% of African-Americans in the U.S. listening to his program and heralded the changing radio style which helped to create "Black appeal radio", which it turn led to the urban contemporary listening format of Black radio in the 1960s and '70s. In 1948, Nat D. became the first African-American disc jockey in Memphis when he went on air for WDIA-AM. He is in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame; and in 2017 was inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. There is a historical marker outside the former site of the Palace theatre on Beale Street where he was often master of ceremonies, placed there by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
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Commemorated on 1 plaque
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Nat D. Williams In 1948, Nat D. Williams became the first black radio announcer in Memphis when he began broadcasting for WDIA. He was a co-founder of the Cotton Makers Jubilee and is credited with giving the celebration its name. A history teacher in the Memphis City schools, Williams was best known for Amateur Night on Beale Street, which he began in 1935 at the Old Palace Theater. Williams was also a columnist for the Memphis World.
On Beale Street, Memphis, TN, United States where they was