Willi Williams (also Willie Williams) is a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and dub musician and producer. He is known as the "Armagideon Man" after his hit, " Armagideon Time", first recorded in 1977 at Studio One in Kingston. The song was covered by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

as the flipside of their "

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. T ...

" single.

Biography

Williams was born in

Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on ac ...

.Campbell, Howard (2015)
Spreading the message in Canada
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 1 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015 He attended

Trenchtown Trench Town (also Trenchtown) is a neighbourhood located in the parish of St. Andrew, part of which is in Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. In the 1960s, Trench Town was known as the Hollywood of Jamaica. Today Trench Town is t ...

Comprehensive High School, where he was a classmate of Sly Dunbar. He first recorded at Studio One in the late 1960s, while he was still in school. In 1967 he set up the "Tripletone" sound system and in 1969 started his own record label called "Soul Sounds"; among the artists he recorded were Delroy Wilson, The Versatiles, and Rhythm Force (a pseudonym for

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

). He moved to Canada in 1974 and split his time between

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario and Kingston.Walters, Basil (2013)
Stepping Out with Willie Williams, YAHBA
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 9 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013 He worked with keyboardist

Jackie Mittoo Donat Roy Mittoo (3 March 1948 – 16 December 1990), better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label. ...

and producer Coxsone Dodd on "Armagideon Time", a single (and later the title track of a Studio One album) recorded over the "

Real Rock "Real Rock" is an instrumental reggae song by the Jamaican band Sound Dimension. It was recorded in 1967 at Jamaica Recording Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and released as a single in 1968 by Studio One. The song was produced by Clement "Coxsone" ...

" riddim. The song was covered by

in 1979, and later featured in the film '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' and on the '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' soundtrack (is featured on the reggae radio station K-JAH Radio West but not on the soundtrack album). "Armagideon Time" is included on the four CD anthology ''Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music'', which Mango Records released in 1993. The song was also sampled by

The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in 1996 on their track "Zealots". In 2007, the rock band Gov't Mule adapted and recorded Williams' composition "Natty with a Cause" as "Rebel with a Cause", which features Williams' voice along with that of Gov't Mule singer Warren Haynes. The reggae-punk band Sublime used some lyrics from the song "Armagideon Time", as well as the bass line, for the song "Sweet Little Rosie". , Willi was working on an album with an up-and-coming Toronto artist named Visionary. On 14 August 2014,

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

announced their plans to release a Willi Williams/

Yabby You Vivian Jackson (14 August 1946 – 12 January 2010), better known as Yabby You (or sometimes Yabby U), was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work. Biography Jac ...

project titled ''Unification: From Channel One to King Tubbys with Willi Williams and Yabby You'', which includes tracks recorded in the late 1970s and never released. According to label chief Randall Grass, the album was recorded between 1978 and 1980 at both

Channel One Studios Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica.Campbell, Howard (2014)Making magic at Channel One, ''Jamaica Observer'', 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014 The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and ...

and

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who greatly influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's innovative studio work, which saw him elevate the ...

's studio, utilizing musicians including

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

and

the Revolutionaries The Revolutionaries (sometimes known as "Revolutionaires") was a Jamaican reggae band. Career Set up in 1975 as the house band of the Channel One Studios owned by Joseph Hoo Kim, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on drums and Bertram "Ranc ...

Soul Syndicate Soul Syndicate, originally called the Rhythm Raiders, were one of the top reggae session bands in Jamaica from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. History In the first half of the 1970s the band from the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston recorded ...

, The Gladiators,

Bobby Ellis Bobby Ellis OD (2 July 1932 – 18 October 2016) was a Jamaican trumpet player. He worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and The Revolutionaries. Biography Born in Kingston on 2 October 1932, Bobby Ellis attende ...

Cedric Brooks Cedric "Im" Brooks (27 April 1943 – 3 May 2013) was a Jamaican saxophonist and flautist known for his solo recordings and as a member of The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, The Sound Dimensions, Divine Light, The Light of Saba, and The Skatal ...

and Bobby Kalphat. In a September 2014 interview with

Midnight Raver ''Midnight Raver'' was a website dedicated solely to the promotion and preservation of roots reggae, culture and dub. Contributors include authors and journalists, historians, record producers, broadcasters, lecturers, archivists, collectors and ...

, Williams revealed that the Uptempo and Smugg record labels have been copying his music without permission and releasing it on compilation albums. Specifically, he stated that the ''One Love'' compilation released by Smugg Records in 2012 is an unauthorized record as well as the ''Roots and Culture'' (1984, Uptempo) Barry_Brown.html" ;"title="Barry_Brown_(singer).html" ;"title="ith Barry Brown (singer)">Barry Brown">Barry_Brown_(singer).html" ;"title="ith Barry Brown (singer)">Barry Brownalbum released in the early 1980s by the Uptempo label. In 2019, after a three-year hiatus due to a knee injury, Williams began a musical collaboration with the electronic musician New Chance. The project is intended to bring two communities together as an act of kinship and political solidarity.

Album discography

*''Messenger Man'' (1980, Drum Street) ereleased 2005 with extra trackshttp://www.roots-archives.com/release/1175*''Armagideon Time'' (1982, Coxsone) eissued 1992*''Roots and Culture'' (1984, Uptempo) Barry_Brown.html" ;"title="Barry_Brown_(singer).html" ;"title="ith Barry Brown (singer)">Barry Brown">Barry_Brown_(singer).html" ;"title="ith Barry Brown (singer)">Barry Brown*''Unity'' (1986, Black Star) *''Natty with a Cause'' (1992, Jah Shaka) *''See Me'' (1994, Jah Shaka) *''Jah Will'' (1995, Drum Street) *''Thanks & Devotion'' (1999, Drum Street) *''Full Time Love'' (2002, Drum Street) *''Di Real Rock'' (2007) *''Mighty High'' (2007) *''Reggae Can't Done'' (2013) *''Glory to the King'' (2020)

Compilations

*''From Studio One to Drum Street'' (M10) *''From Studio One to Drum Street, Vol 2'' (Drum Street)

References

External links

Official site

Willi Williams on WKCR 89.9 FM, New York, 5 April 2008 Part 1 of 2
https://archive.org/details/IrationVivrationsPRESENTS_970 Part 2 of 2] {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Willi 1953 births Living people Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican record producers People from Saint Ann Parish