Major Works
- “I’m just a Nobody”
- “Never say No”
- “I won’t let go my Faith”
- “He’ll Understand”
- Candlelight Christmas
Book: Still Standing Tall: The Story of the Williams Brothers
The Williams Brothers: A Biography
by Andrea Lane (SHS)
Andrea Lane (SHS Researcher)
The Williams Brothers were born to Amanda and Leonard “Pop” Williams of Smithdale, Mississippi. The family was a large family of nine. The original Williams Brothers were founded by Leonard “Pop” Williams, the current singers father, in 1960.
The most recent group is comprised of Melvin Williams, 45, Doug Williams, 40, and Henry Green, 55, plus musicians in the group’s back-up band. In the early years, brothers Leonard and occasionally Frank were members of The Sensational Williams Brothers. Their mother said, “They would have church in the back yard and they would have broken brooms as microphones.” ”
They recorded their first album in 1973 with the Songbird label. They have recorded 18 top songs, which include songs, like “Jesus Will Fix It,” “Jesus Will Say No”, Sweep around your own front Door” just to name a few. In the month of April, 1991, they formed their own record label and called it Blackberry Records. They were the first blacks to own their own record label in the state of Mississippi.
The Williams Brothers have three Grammy Award nominations and numerous Stellar Awards to their credit. In spite of the Williams Brothers’ travels and success, the group continues to make music from its home base in Summit, Mississippi. Their first release was entitled, “This is your Night.” It reached #4 on the Billboard charts.
Their album entitled “Still Standing” was released on May 13, 1997. It hit the gospel charts and their friends Shirley Caesar and Stevie Wonder are part of the recording. They’ve been a part of numerous events including the Black expo, operation push, Gospel Music workshops of America, National Council of Negro Women.
The Williams Brothers appeared on a number of television shows such as Soul Train, Bobby Jones Gospel, CBS News, and “A Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” They even named a street after The Williams Brothers. In addition, Melvin Williams also has released a solo album called “Never Seen Your Face” on the Blackberry label.
A book by them with Glen Allison is called Still Standing Tall: The Story of Gospel Music’s Williams Brothers.
Timeline
- 1960-Leonard “Pop” Williams founded the original group
- 1970-Writing and arranging their music
- 1973-Recorded first album
- 1979-Produced own music
- 1986-Won best performance group
- 1987-Best performance group
- 1991-Stellar award, Blackberry Records formed
- 1992-Vision award
- 1995-Stellar award
- 1997-Album “Still Standing”
- 2016 – Headlined at the opening of The Grammy Museum in Mississippi