The Williams Brothers

Doug Williams

"In a family like ours, that always had music, we took it for granted. We were singing as soon as we could walk. Everyone was singing; it was all around us, a family tradition."

Born the youngest child of Leon "Pop" and Amanda "Mom" Williams, Doug Williams became a member of the Stellar Award winning, Grammy nominated The Williams Brothers at the tender age of five. Since then, Doug has grown to be a devoted Christian and family man.

Doug is a man who really loves and fears the Lord and is very serious about his ministry. He is very low key, quiet, laid back, humble and very likable with a friendly personality. His goal is to become more like Jesus everyday.

Doug has enjoyed a successful career, writing and producing hits for such talented artists as The Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Canton Spirituals, Bobby Jones, The Jackson Southernaires as well as The Williams Brothers.

He has been in part responsible for 18 top-10 albums in Billboard and Cashbox magazines, from which came three No. 1 records and three Grammy nominations. He has been writing and arranging since 1970 and producing since 1979.

Doug has been a guest vocalist with such artists as The Mississippi Mass Choir, Yolanda Adams, The Canton Spirituals, Slim & The Supreme Angels, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr., Douglas Miller, The Winans and The Jackson Southernaires to name a few.

Doug is a lifetime member of The Rosehill Missionary Baptist Church. He was born and reared in Mississippi and is an avid football and basketball fan. He graduated with honors from Franklin County High School in Meadville, Miss., with an A average. He is also the proud father of one daughter and one step daughter and has been married since July 1983.

Melvin Williams

"I remember we had made up this little song with nonsense words -'Hobbee Deebee Dobbee Di' - and we used to go out in the yard singing that over and over to different tunes. But then we started learning other songs with real words and we sang those out there in the yard too, acting like we were our older brothers and sisters performing in front of people."

Melvin Williams started singing at the age of six with his brothers. He sings lead and once played lead guitar in The Williams Brothers. He has been writing and arranging most of his own music since 1970 and producing music since 1979.

He and his brothers have recorded 18 top-10 albums according to Billboard and Cashbox magazines, which produced three No. 1 records and three Grammy nominations.

In April 1991, Melvin along with the Williams Brothers formed their own record label. Melvin wrote the title cut from their first release on the label entitled "This is Your Night." It reached as high as No. 4 on Billboard Magazine's gospel chart, and it won the 1991 Stellar Award and also was nominated for a 1992 Grammy Award.

In addition to Melvin's numerous nominations and awards, he was nominated in three categories at the 1998 Stellar Awards Ceremony for his album "Never Seen Your Face," and came home with two awards- Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year, and Traditional Album of the Year.

Henry Green

"A lot of people don't realize what it was like back then. We sang because we loved singing, and whatever we had to do to support ourselves, we would do."

In 1961 one of the Williams cousins told Pop about another singer, Henry Green. He had heard Henry, 18 at the time, sing at the Brown's Chapel Primitive Baptist Church in Liberty, only a few miles from Smithdale.

Henry, the third of 12 children, worked the fields until he was old enough to get other jobs. He and a friend often walked miles to find others to sing with-they would sing along the road, on front porches, in anyone's front yard who'd oblige.

When Pop Williams went to hear Henry at Brown's Chapel Church, he liked how the young man could hit the high notes, yet blend with the other singers. "Cousin Henry" - or "Mr. Green," as he is still sometimes called-became the newest member of The Little Williams Brothers.

Early on Henry had doubts about staying with the group, especially when he had a fulltime job and sang on the weekends. But, with Pop's encouragement, he stuck with The Williams Brothers, and proved to himself and others that he's a man who knows how to work with others. He is currently Vice-President of Blackberry Records.

Henry lives in McComb, where he enjoys rabbit hunting, and training his Beagles for that purpose. And of course there's always the music.