Born to a family of sharecroppers in Zachary, Louisiana, Robert Pete Williams was a Louisiana blues musician known for his unconventional guitar tunings and structures. Most of his music surrounds his time spent in Angola Prison. In 1956 Williams was given a life sentence for fatally shooting a man, an act he claims was in self defense. With the help of a group of ethnomusicologists, Williams’ sentence was comuted to 12 years and he was given servitude parole. This kept him from returning to his music career in a fulfilling manner until the late 60s when American Roots music had a national revival. He has been inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. His importance as a blues guitarist and a fixture of prison folklore still reigns today, with acts like Captain Beefheart and the Black Keys covering his music and citing him as an influence.