Biography
read full storyWilli Williams is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician who is one of the founding members of Roots Reggae Music and whose music career has spanned over 40 years.
Williams was born in the parish of St. Ann where he attended the Trenchtown Comprehensive High School where he was a classmate of Sly Dunbar. It was while he was still in school that he did his first recording at Coxson Dodd's Studio One in 1966, called "Calling". In 1969 he started his own record label with Bobby Kalphat called Soul Sounds. The label went on to record artistes such as Delroy Wilson, Rhythm Force and The Versatiles (who would eventually have a major part to play in Bob Marley's backing band).
Williams eventually moved to Canada where he began work with a keyboardist named Jackie Mittoo. They worked together frequently and Mittoo contributed significantly to Williams' album "Messenger Man" in 1978. It was the year later while still working with Mittoo and producer Dodd, that Williams released the breakthrough track "Armagideon Time" which eventually became a popular Jamaican anthem. The song was also included on Mango Records' 1993 album "Tougher than Tough". The song went on to be covered by various artistes of differing genres, most famously by The Clash.
Williams has toured internationally, both as a solo artist and due to his work with Yabby You.
He recorded a track called "Natty with a Cause" which was adapted by the rock band Government Mule to produce a track called "Rebel with a Cause" which had a distinct reggae-rock feel. His most famous song "Armagideon Time" was adapted by The Clash and was featured in the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and also in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Williams' long standing career has resulted in the release of 8 albums with his latest being released in 2002 called "Full Time Love".