Vern Williams (born Delbert Lavern Williams) (December 9, 1930 – June 6, 2006) was a singer and mandolin player who was instrumental in introducing

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

to the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

Early life

Williams was born on December 9, 1930, in Newton County, Arkansas (or Bullfrog Valley, Pope County, Arkansas), as part of a musical family; family members (such as brothers Junior and Hairl Dean) played fiddle, guitar, and banjo. Williams started on guitar, then switched to mandolin at age 17. In 1952, he was drafted into the United States Marine Corps and moved to San Diego, California for basic training. After serving at Twentynine Palms, California, he married Marjory Vogler and moved to Stockton, California.

Vern and Ray

In 1960, Williams formed a duo with fiddler Ray Park known as Vern and Ray. Vern and Ray became one of the most successful bluegrass bands in Northern California. According to DJ Tom Diamant, "Anybody who plays bluegrass in the Bay area and sings the tenor part has been influenced by Vern Williams. He was one of the greatest tenor singers in history" Vern and Ray recorded one studio album, ''Sounds From the Ozarks'', on the Old Homestead label; which is now considered a collector's item. The duo broke up in 1974.

Vern Williams Band

After the breakup of Vern and Ray, Williams formed the Vern Williams Band, which featured his son Delbert on guitar, fiddler Ed Neff and singer and banjoist Keith Little. The band became known as a "powerhouse bluegrass outfit". In 1980, they signed with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

and, shortly afterwards, recorded ''Bluegrass from the Gold Country'' which is now considered a bluegrass classic. The Vern Williams Band also backed up country music legend

Rose Maddox Roselea Arbana "Rose" MaddoxMany sources give her birth name as Brogdon. This is an error. She was recorded, with her birth family, as Rose Maddox in the 1940 US Census, and other sources report her second husband's name as Brogdon. (August 1 ...

in her latter recordings. The band broke up in 1986.

Legacy

Over the years, Williams worked with many younger musicians, both in Vern and Ray, and within the Vern Williams Band, who went on to successful careers of their own including

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944, in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, singer-songwriter, and actor who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, blueg ...

Laurie Lewis Laurie Alexis Lewis (born September 28, 1950) is an American bluegrass singer, musician, and songwriter. History Laurie Lewis was born in Long Beach, California on September 28, 1950. Her family moved regularly from place to place until she w ...

, Peter Wernick,

Sandy Rothman Sandy Rothman (born January 30, 1946, Miami, Florida) is an American, San Francisco Bay Area bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He plays mandolin, dobro and banjo, and he also sings. Rothman was a friend and colleague of Grat ...

, and Rick Shubb. Lewis said of her time with the Vern Williams Band, "I was in heaven, with the best seat in the house for that scraped-clean, unvarnished sound" and "Playing with them ... has always been among the highlights of my musical career." In 1997, Williams was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA), and he was the first to be awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the California Bluegrass Association. Williams died in 2006 in San Andreas, California.

Discography

* ''Sounds From the Ozarks'', Vern and Ray, Old Homestead Records, 1974 * ''Vern & Ray With Herb Pedersen - San Francisco,''

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was ...

, 1968 * ''Bluegrass from the Gold Country'', The Vern Williams Band, Rounder Records, 1981 * ''This Is Rose Maddox'', Rose Maddox with The Vern Williams Band, Arhoolie Records, 1981 * ''A Beautiful Bouquet'', Rose Maddox with The Vern Williams Band, Arhoolie Records, 1983 * ''Traditional Bluegrass'', The Vern Williams Band, Arhoolie Records, 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Vern 1930 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American musicians