The Williams Brothers is an American traditional black gospel music group from Jackson, Mississippi, they were formed in 1960 by Leon "Pop" Williams, who was the Williams' father, and early on the Williams' brother Frank Douglas was a member. At its inception, The group consisted of three brothers, Doug Williams, Leonard Williams, Melvin Williams, and their cousin, Henry Green and a non-family member Maurice Surrell. Later on the group would add Derrick Horne, Maulty "Tuff" Jewell IV, Pharis "June Bug" Evans Jr., Ralph Lofton Jr., and Terrell Midge Gatlin. They released 42 albums with various labels during their tenure, and 23 albums charted on the Billboard charts, mostly on the Gospel Albums chart. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category at the 34th, 37th, 43rd, 47th, and the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. In 1999, the group was inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, which is in Detroit, Michigan.
Background The Jackson, Mississippi-based traditional black gospel group, The Williams Brothers started in 1960 by Leon "Pop" Williams (November 24, 1908/1909 – September 6, 1989), who was the father of the Williams Brothers and an early member of the group, died in a car accident. Another early member of the group was Franklin Delano Williams (born June 27, 1947 and Died: March 22, 1993, Savannah, GA). At their origination, they were made up of three brothers, Doug Williams, Leonard Williams (born July 1, 1951), Melvin Williams, and their cousin, Henry Green. Over the years, the group added Derrick Horne, Maulty "Tuff" Jewell IV, Pharis "June Bug" Evans Jr., Ralph Lofton, and Terrell Midge Gatlin to their rostrum.
History The group released 42 albums with a myriad of labels from 1960 until 2014, and those labels were the following: Word Records, Nashboro Records, Savoy Records, CBS Records International, New Birth Records, Malaco Records, A&M Records, Melendo Records, Blackberry Records, Compendia Records, Warner Bros. Records, Myrrh Records, and MCA Records. They have had 23 albums chart on the Billboard magazine charts, mainly on the Gospel Albums chart, and those were the following: Feel the Spirit, Blessed, Hand in Hand, A New Beginning, Ain't Love Wonderful, The Is Your Night, The Williams Brothers Greatest Hits Volume 1, The Williams Brothers, The Best Of And More "Live", In This Place, Still Standing, The Concert, Still Here, SoulLink Live, Greatest Hits Plus, Soullink Live 3: Man in the Mirror, On Broken Pieces: A Hurricane Relief Effort, The Journey Continues, My Brother's Keeper, Celebrating 50 Years, Live At The Hard Rock: Part I, My Brother's Keeper II, and Songs Of Worship, Praise & Deliverance. The group has received five Grammy Award nominations during their tenure in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category, at the 34th edition for the album This Is Your Night, at the 37th edition for In This Place, at the 43rd edition for The Concert, at the 47th edition for Still Here, and at the 52nd edition for The Journey Continues. In 1999, the group was inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame, which is located in Detroit, Michigan.
Members Current members Andre "Dray" Tate Doug Williams Melvin Williams Henry Green (born March 23, 1943, Smithville, Mississippi) (died February 4, 2024)
Former members Leon "Pop" Williams Leonard Williams Franklin Delano Williams Maurice Surrell Derrick Horne Maulty "Tuff" Jewell IV Pharis "June Bug" Evans Jr. Ralph Lofton Terrell Midge Gatlin AJ Walker
Discography (*) – Denotes a Grammy Award nomination, for that particular album + List of selected albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positionsUSGosFeel the Spirit Released: 1983
CD, digital download 3Blessed Released: 1985
CD, digital download 1Hand in Hand Released: 1986
CD, digital download 2A New Beginning Released: 1988
CD, digital download 4Ain't Love Wonderful Released: 1990
CD, digital download 6This Is Your Night* Released: 1991
CD, digital download 4The Williams Brothers Greatest Hits Volume 1 Released: 1991
CD, digital download 33The Best Of And More "Live" Released: 1993
CD, digital download 16In This Place* Released: 1994
CD, digital download 1Still Standing Released: 1997
CD, digital download 15The Concert* Released: 2000
CD, digital download 21Still Here* Released: 2003
CD, digital download 15SoulLink Live Released: 2004
CD, digital download 9Greatest Hits Plus Released: 2005
CD, digital download 26Soullink Live 3: Man In The Mirror Released: 2006
CD, digital download 36On Broken Pieces: A Hurricane Relief Effort Released: 2006
CD, digital download 27The Journey Continues* Released: 2009
CD, digital download 16Celebrating 50 Years Released: 2010
CD, digital download 24Live At The Hard Rock - Part I Released: 2011
CD, digital download 21My Brother's Keeper II Released: 2013
CD, digital download 18Songs of Worship, Praise & Deliverance Released: 2014
CD, digital download 16Timeless Released: 2017
CD, digital download 13
Concept music videos "I'm Just a Nobody" "Sweep Around" "I'm Too Close" (featuring Stevie Wonder) "Still Here" "Move in Me" "Use Me" (featuring Tim Rogers, Stan Jones and Lisa Knowles)
References
External links Official facebook Malaco Records profile