Willi Williams (also Willie Williams) (born 15 June 1953) is a Jamaican reggae 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 as the flipside of their "London Calling" single.
Willi Williams
Willi Williams performing at the 2007 Winnipeg Ska and Reggae Festival
Williams was born in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica.[1] He attended Trenchtown Comprehensive High School, where he was a classmate of Sly Dunbar.[2] He first recorded at Studio One in the late 1960s, while he was still in school.[1] 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). He moved to Canada in 1974 and split his time between Toronto, Ontario and Kingston.[1][3]
He worked with keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and producer Coxsone Dodd on "Armagideon Time", a single[4] (and later the title track of a Studio One album)[5] recorded over the "Real Rock" riddim. The song was covered by The Clash 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 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". As of 2007[update], Willi was working on an album with an up-and-coming Toronto artist named Visionary.
In a September 2014 interview with Midnight Raver, 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) [with Barry Brown] album released in the early 1980s by the Uptempo label.[7]
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.[8]
Album discographyedit
Messenger Man (1980, Drum Street) [rereleased 2005 with extra tracks][9]
Armagideon Time (1982, Coxsone) [reissued 1992]
Roots and Culture (1984, Uptempo) [with Barry Brown]
Willi Williams on WKCR 89.9 FM, New York, 5 April 2008 Part 1 of 2Part 2 of 2
January 01, 1970
willi, williams, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, t. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Willi Williams news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Willi Williams also Willie Williams born 15 June 1953 is a Jamaican reggae 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 as the flipside of their London Calling single Willi WilliamsWilli Williams performing at the 2007 Winnipeg Ska and Reggae FestivalBackground informationBorn 1953 06 15 15 June 1953 age 70 Saint Ann Parish JamaicaGenresReggae dubOccupation s Singer songwriter producerYears active1960s presentLabelsStudio One Soul Sounds Heartbeat Black Star Jah Shaka Drum StreetWebsitewilliwilliams wbr com Contents 1 Biography 2 Album discography 3 Compilations 4 References 5 External linksBiography editWilliams was born in Saint Ann Parish Jamaica 1 He attended Trenchtown Comprehensive High School where he was a classmate of Sly Dunbar 2 He first recorded at Studio One in the late 1960s while he was still in school 1 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 He moved to Canada in 1974 and split his time between Toronto Ontario and Kingston 1 3 He worked with keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and producer Coxsone Dodd on Armagideon Time a single 4 and later the title track of a Studio One album 5 recorded over the Real Rock riddim The song was covered by The Clash 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 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 As of 2007 update Willi was working on an album with an up and coming Toronto artist named Visionary On 14 August 2014 Shanachie Records announced their plans to release a Willi Williams Yabby You 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 6 According to label chief Randall Grass the album was recorded between 1978 and 1980 at both Channel One Studios and King Tubby s studio utilizing musicians including Sly and Robbie and the Revolutionaries Soul Syndicate The Gladiators Jackie Mittoo Bobby Ellis Cedric Brooks and Bobby Kalphat In a September 2014 interview with Midnight Raver 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 with Barry Brown album released in the early 1980s by the Uptempo label 7 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 8 Album discography editMessenger Man 1980 Drum Street rereleased 2005 with extra tracks 9 Armagideon Time 1982 Coxsone reissued 1992 Roots and Culture 1984 Uptempo with Barry Brown Unity 1986 Black Star Natty with a Cause 1992 Jah Shaka See Me 1994 Jah Shaka Jah Will 1995 Drum Street Thanks amp 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 editFrom Studio One to Drum Street M10 From Studio One to Drum Street Vol 2 Drum Street References edit a b c Campbell Howard 2015 Spreading the message in Canada Jamaica Observer 1 February 2015 Retrieved 5 February 2015 Article Willie Williams Reggae vibes com Archived from the original on 26 November 2005 Walters Basil 2013 Stepping Out with Willie Williams YAHBA Jamaica Observer 9 June 2013 Retrieved 15 June 2013 45cat Willie Williams Armagideon Time Armagideon Version Studio 1 Jamaica SO099 45cat com Retrieved 14 April 2023 1 dead link Long lost Willi Williams Yabby You LP set for September 30 release by Shanachie Midnightraverblog com Retrieved 10 September 2014 The Armigideon Man Who Hails From St Anne Midnightraverblog com Retrieved 5 October 2014 Locke Jesse 16 October 2019 How New Chance linked up with reggae legend Willi Williams Nowtoronto com Retrieved 9 November 2019 2 dead link External links editOfficial site 2004 interview Willi Williams on WKCR 89 9 FM New York 5 April 2008 Part 1 of 2Part 2 of 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Willi Williams amp oldid 1213708329, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
