Kenneth “Ken” Williams, who wrote or co-wrote more than 500 songs including the classic 1972 hit “Everybody Plays the Fool” recorded by The Main Ingredient with lead vocals by Cuba Gooding Sr., died June 17 following a long non-Covid illness at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY. He was 83.
His death was announced by his wife, the Broadway actress and singer Mary Seymour Williams.
Although most widely known for “Everybody Plays the Fool,” the classic R&B song he co-wrote with Rudy Clark and J.R. Bailey, Williams was a prolific songwriter, record producer, arranger and singer for the past 60 years.