Doug Williams

There’s something to be said about longevity in the music business. Most never experience it and the few who do, show the battle scars brought on by a rocky ride through the business of it all. But the same can’t be said for Doug and Melvin. In fact, their experience has been a seemingly joyous cruise that’s ensured their place in the Gospel music hall of fame.

Quite frankly, in an industry where careers flame out quicker than match boxes, The Williams Brothers have endured and flourished over nearly two generations by writing, producing, recording and performing the best gospel music Mississippi has to offer to several generations of gospel fans.

At this point, their success has allowed them to soar into promising solo careers. And with the recent release of When Mercy Found Me by Doug Williams, it was time to take notes on how a couple of good ole boyz from Mississippi keep on “keeping-on” for the Lord.

Christopher Heron: Let's start off by talking about your new release – When Mercy Found Me (Blackberry); it's your second solo project. How does this new album differ from Heartsongs (Blackberry).

Doug Williams: Well, this is my second solo project that I been working on with Blackberry Records. I'm very excited about this new project because I was able to step out and try different musical styles, do some different things musically from what I would normally do with The Williams Brothers. I branched out a little bit on Heartsongs but on When Mercy Found Me, I stepped out a little further. I was basically trying to show some versatility even though our fan base is traditional quartet music, per se. But we're really not limited to that; we've been blessed to do all sorts of music and styles. I wanted to share that talent with the general public and show some vocal versatility and doing things I wanted to do but haven’t done in the past.

CH: You've brought some very special people on board to sing along with you on When Mercy Found Me. Kelly Price and a favorite of mine, Kim McFarland are just a couple that come to mind. Do you have special relationships with these artists?

DW: Well, yes we do, as I matter of fact. I was very excited to have Kelly Price on the project. We actually do a song and I did a song with on her Christmas album – One Family (Def Jam). I had an opportunity to do Because Of You with Kelly and I really love that particular song. It is also getting a great response all across the country. I also found out that Kelly Price has been a big fan of The Williams Brothers for many years and we didn't even know that until we were contacted to do something with her. That was pretty exciting.

Of course Kim McFarland is a very dynamic singer; I've always loved Kim from all the hit songs she sang with The Thompson Community Singers. I was just very fortunate to have a chance to work with her. We met a few times and talked. I thought about Kim and said I really wanted to do something with her on this project.

I did a lot of album recording in Chicago which made it a little easier. When I called her, she said she would be more than happy to do it. She blew me away because she is truly awesome in what she does. I think she's only in hiding for a short time; I think she's getting ready to come out with something soon so be on the lookout for it.

I've also been a fan of DJ Rogers from way back when he did Love Brought Me Back and of course, songs like Say You Love Me, which was a big song for DJ. I never thought I would have the opportunity to work with him in the studio but, one of our co-producers who was being managed by DJ Rogers got together giving me the opportunity to finally meet DJ. DJ asked to do something on the project with me because he's also been a fan of The Williams Brothers for many years. It all kinda worked out and I was excited to have him on the project.

CH: You and your brother, Melvin, have now both launched incredible solo projects. How would you characterize the differences and styles and the approach you both bring towards your music ministries and your vocal abilities?

DW: People tend to tell me that I have more of a smooth kind of style. I am also a little more contemporary than Melvin; he's more of a raw, go-getter singer and even though he can do the contemporary…well he's more of a traditional type of singer. I tend to lean more to the contemporary side. I really love ballads and love singing ballads; you probably can tell by listening to my albums. I like the smooth sound.

CH: The Williams family has been contributing to gospel music in the South for nearly 50 years. I have LPs going back some time ago and from what I can see, it's a big musical family built with lots of brothers and sisters. Tell us about the family and growing up in Mississippi and the kind of musical family you had.

DW: Well the Williams family has been doing gospel music for many, many years. It really all started with my father Leon Williams who was a singer himself back in the days. He used to sing with a group called The Big Four Gospel Singers. He had a quartet group and it all just kind of evolved from him. Of course my mother sang as well; she was in a group called the Southern Gospel Singers, organized by my father. The group consisted of my brother Frank, my oldest brother Leon Jr., and my brother Huey. That's where it all started to branch out and The Williams Brothers just sprang from that group. My father and Frank actually organized the Williams Brothers. I mean the legacy is there; we have been doing this since we were children. I thought about singing with the Williams Brothers when I was five years old. Of course, I'm forty-six now so that's how many years I've put into it.

Also there was a group organized by my brother Frank - The Williams Family - that did some recordings back in the day. That consisted of Frank, my mother, my three sisters, two nieces and two cousins. They did two albums. Many people will remember Willie Banks; Willie Banks and the Messengers they had a big song called God's Goodness many years ago. Willie was married to my older sister Delina and when Frank got out of college he moved to Jackson to go to Jackson State University. My brother Huey was always there. One thing led to another, then God put it in Frank's heart to organize a mass choir and he did, the Mississippi Mass Choir, and pretty much the rest is history; they sure had some great records.

CH: How important was the church experience in contributing to the careers of the Williams Family?

DW: Well the church was definitely the base. It was not then how it is now with a lot of members and a huge building. We also didn't have a choice whether to go to church; that choice was always made for us by our parents. You got up on Sunday morning and were getting ready for church even if you stayed out all night; you still had to get up and go to church. The church was a major part of our lives; the singing in the choir, singing in school choirs, in high school as well as college choirs. We've just been involved in music all of our lives.

CH: The Williams Brothers remain one of the most identifiable figures in quartet music. Do you see yourselves as quartet leaders or do you see yourself as a gospel group capable of singing all kinds of gospel music formats in your presentation?

DW: I really thank God that we're able to do it all and God had given us the ability to to bring all kinds of genres of music together. Even though, in many instances, we are referred to as a quartet, a lot of people don't look at the Williams Brothers as a quartet. They look at us as a group. Our music is diverse, it isn't strictly quartet music because on every Williams’ project we have ever done, there has been some contemporary music, and that includes our solo projects. We've never been strictly traditional artists but we've been looked at in that way many times. We've been very fortunate and we give God praise and glory for that. Our music has not only been able to reach a quartet audience but has also been able to reach the young, the old, contemporary people and choirs; they have all been supportive of the Williams music and so we thank God for that.

CH: You also have much to thank God for in terms of your enterprising ways and establishing one of the oldest and certainly one of the best known black gospel record labels - Blackberry Records. Explain to me the challenges and the victories you've had over the many years of just surviving in this marketplace as an independent record label.

DW: Well, that has truly been a challenge. God gave us the vision to start this label. We really started seriously thinking about it in 1990; of course it was something our father had talked to us about for many years. Owning our own record label was something he instilled in us - own our own label, own our own music and control our own destiny.

Finally in 1990, God put an enterprising spirit in Melvin and me to make that leap of faith and take that big step forward. It was a major step and at that particular time we had many record companies talking to us about signing with them; they had some really good offers on the table. Most people wouldn't walk away from the money we were being offered but we ended up walking away from it. We knew in our hearts that it was time to make that move; God confirmed that it was time to make that move. So, in 1991, we started Blackberry Records.

It was really a challenge because it took some getting used to being a record company executive, while being an artist, a producer, a songwriter, and also being a family man. It took a lot of time and effort to pull it all off. But, we were determined. And, I would tell anybody that when running a record company, to run it and do it properly. It takes a considerable amount of money and money we didn't have at that particular time. And going to different banks here in the state of Mississippi that had no knowledge of the record industry and what it was all about, it was very difficult to get the funding needed to get the record company off the ground. But, thank God we had friends who were willing to lend us the money to get it going. It was a struggle, but God has truly blessed this label. As I look back now, we've been in business for twelve years, and it doesn't seem that long but it has been. And, I know last year the economy was bad, and a lot of people in the industry were suffering, and record sales were really bad. But 2002 happened to be the greatest year we've had at Blackberry records. So, God knows what He's doing (laughs).

CH: Now how did you come to showcase many of these artists to a larger audience?

DW: Well, believe it or not, once we got the label started, the artists started coming to us. They wanted to be a part of it.

CH: So, at this particular time in your music ministry, at the youthful age of forty-something, what are the current plans for The Williams brothers? When should we expect the next release?

DW: Actually, we are going to be doing a live recording on April 5th and 6th. We are also doing a video...and we're excited about that. We're just putting all the material together. I really believe God has blessed this project. He's given us some great songs, so we're very excited about that.

CH: As you look back on the many years, how do you account for your success over the years in such a competitive industry? Artists frequently disappear after only release, while your ministry has endured for over 40 years...that's an incredible testimony.

DW: It really is. I just have to give all the praise and glory to God for giving us what we need to have longevity in this industry because, like you said, so many artists in the industry are what you'd call 'one-hit wonders'. You could have an artist that will be very hot for a couple of years, and then after a while, you wonder what happened to them. And, I've seen so many of them come and go like that. But, for forty-something years, God has kept us here. He has given us the songs, given us the music, the ideals people can relate to. And, in this day, you have to sort of change with the times, or you'll get left behind. So, God keeps giving us fresh ideas, fresh songs, fresh messages, and that's one of the things that's keeping us out here and has given us this longevity…praise God !!!