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{{short description|American gospel singer (1927–1994)}}

'''Marion Williams''' ([[August 29]], [[1927]] - [[July 2]], [[1994]]) was a legendary American [[gospel music|gospel]] singer, often regarded as one of the most powerful voices in American music history. A powerful singer with a preternaturally broad range, able to reach the highest registers of the soprano range without losing either purity or volume, she could also swoop down to growling low notes in the style of a country preacher. Williams' singing helped make [[Clara Ward|the Ward Singers]] nationally popular when they began recording in [[1948]], and also influenced Rhythm & Blues and Rock n Roll pioneer [[Little Richard]] in his vocal development.

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{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Marion Williams

| image = Marion Williams (singer).jpg

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|8|29}}

| birth_place = [[Miami, Florida]], U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|7|2|1927|8|29}}

| death_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.

| genre = [[Gospel music]]

| occupations = Singer

| years_active =

| label =

| website =

}}

'''Marion Williams''' (August 29, 1927&nbsp;– July 2, 1994) was an American [[Gospel music|gospel]] singer.

== Early years ==

She was born in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. As was common in the area, Williams was exposed to [[African American]] [[blues]] and [[jazz]], alongside Caribbean [[calypso music|calypso]]. Poverty caused Williams to leave school at fourteen, working with her mother at a laundry. She was singing at church and on street corners, inspired by a wide range of musicians including [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]] and the [[Smith Jubilee Singers]]. She stuck with gospel, however, in spite of pressure to switch to popular blues tunes or the [[opera]].

{{Onesource|section|date=January 2022}}

Marion Williams was born in [[Miami, Florida]], to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. She left school when she was nine years old to help support the family, and worked as a maid, a nurse, and in factories and laundries. She began singing in front of audiences while young. As was common in the area, Williams learned African American [[blues]] and [[jazz]], alongside Caribbean [[calypso music|calypso]].

Poverty caused Williams to leave school at fourteen to work with her mother at a laundry,<ref name=BlackPast_MarionWilliams /> although she eventually graduated from [[Pacific Union College]] in 1987. She sang at church and on street corners, inspired by a wide range of musicians, including [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]] and the Smith Jubilee Singers.

Williams was invited to join the Ward Singers when they heard her singing during a visit to her sister in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] in [[1946]]. Williams did so in [[1947]], staying with them for eleven years. Her first recording with the group was "How Far Am I from Canaan" ([[1948]]), followed by the breakthrough "Surely God Is Able", which launched Williams and the rest of the group into superstardom. Their concerts were mobbed by frenzied fans.

She stayed with gospel in spite of pressure to switch to popular blues tunes or the [[opera]].

Dissatisfied with the low pay she was receiving while starring for the group, Williams left the Ward Singers in [[1958]], followed by most of the rest of the group, to form the [[Stars of Faith]]. The Stars of Faith was unable, however, to reproduce the success the Ward Singers had enjoyed, as Williams retreated from the spotlight to give other members of the group more opportunity to star.

== Career ==

The group's career recovered, however, in [[1961]], when it appeared in ''[[Black Nativity]]'', an [[off-Broadway]] production, and toured across [[North America]] and [[Europe]]. In [[1965]], Williams began a solo career but soon returned to Miami for her mother's funeral. While there, she felt reinspired to continue her career and began touring college campuses across the country. Her perhaps best-known hit is from this period -- "Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go". In 1991, she performed as a gospel singer in the film ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes (film)|Fried Green Tomatoes]]'', though her scene is available only in the director's cut. The movie was dedicated to her. She was honored as a [[MacArthur Fellow]] in [[1993]] and died in [[1994]].

In 1946, while visiting a friend in Philadelphia, Williams happened to sing before an audience that included [[Clara Ward|Clara]] and Gertrude Ward. They recognized her talent and offered her a job. A year later, she became part of the Famous Ward Singers. Her growling, hands-on-the-hips vocal style made her one of the group's undisputed stars.

In 1958, she and other members of the Ward group formed the Stars of Faith. In 1965, Williams began her solo career. For the next 15 years, she toured the United States, Africa and the [[West Indies]].

==External links==

In 1992, critic and music historian Dave McGee, writing in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'',<ref name="RSAG 1992">{{cite book|last1=McGee|first1=David|last2=DeCurtis|first2=edited by Anthony|last3=Henke|first3=James|last4=George-Warren|first4=Holly|last5=Coleman|first5=Mark|last6=Considine|first6=J. D.|last7=Evans|first7=Paul|title=The Rolling stone album guide : completely new reviews : every essential album, every essential artist|date=1992|publisher=Random House|___location=New York|isbn=978-0-679-73729-2|edition=3rd|access-date=September 16, 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMEQAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> said "One will come away from her recordings believing that she was nothing less than the greatest singer ever".<ref name="GFO 99">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gadflyonline.com/archive/NovDec99/archive-marionwilliams.html |title=Marion Williams |publisher=Gadfly Online | date=November–December 1999 |last=Santelli |first=Robert |access-date=September 16, 2014}}</ref>

*http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4784252

== Musical career ==

[[Category:MacArthur Fellows|Williams, Marion]]

[[Category:1927 births|Williams, Marion]]

[[Category:1994 deaths|Williams, Marion]]

[[Category:American gospel singers|Williams, Marion]]

[[Category:African Americans|Williams, Marion]]

[[Category:People from Miami|Williams, Marion]]

=== The Ward Singers ===

{{Gospel-music-stub}}

Williams was invited to join the Ward Singers when they heard her singing during a visit to a close friend in [[Philadelphia]] in 1946. Williams finally joined them in 1947, staying with them for eleven years. Her first recording with the group was "How Far Am I from Canaan" (1948), followed by the breakthrough "Surely God Is Able", which launched Williams and the rest of the group into super-stardom. Their concerts were mobbed by frenzied fans.

=== Stars of Faith ===

Dissatisfied with the low pay she was receiving while starring for the group, Williams left the Ward Singers in 1958, followed by most of the rest of the group, to form the Stars of Faith. The new group was unable, however, to reproduce the success the Ward Singers had enjoyed, as Williams retreated from the spotlight to give other members of the group more opportunity to star. The group's career recovered, however, in 1961, when it appeared in ''[[Black Nativity]]'', an [[Off-Broadway]] production, and toured across North America and Europe.

=== Solo career ===

In 1965, Williams began a solo career. While in Miami for her mother's funeral, she felt re-inspired to continue her career and began touring college campuses across the country. The recording that is perhaps her best-known hit, "Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go", is from this period.

=== Discography ===

==== Albums ====

* ''[[Can't Keep It to Myself]]'' (1993, Shanachie Entertainment Corp.)

* ''Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go'' (1971, Atlantic Recording Corp.)

=== Filmography ===

==== Film appearances ====

Williams opens the 1990 video ''Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers'' singing the signature song. Later in the [[PBS]] production, she stylized the song in her own way. In 1991, she performed as a gospel singer in the film ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes (film)|Fried Green Tomatoes]]'', though her scene is available only in the director's cut. The movie was dedicated to her.

==== Television appearances ====

On ''[[Hootenanny]]'', a [[variety show|musical variety]] television show, she performed "Packin' Up" and "I've Got To Live The Life I Sing About In My Song" as Marion Williams and Stars of Faith. Williams also performed two songs on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''; during the appearance she and Griffin sang a duet of "[[He's Got the Whole World in His Hands]]". During this appearance she also discussed her international touring plans.

=== Music ===

A powerful singer with a preternaturally broad range, able to reach the highest registers of the soprano range without losing either purity or volume, she could also swoop down to growling low notes in the style of a country preacher.

=== Influence ===

Williams' singing helped make the Ward Singers nationally popular when they began recording in 1948, and also inspired [[rock and roll]] pioneer [[Little Richard]]'s signature wail.<ref name="Rolling Stone 041990">{{cite journal|title=Little Richard|date=April 19, 1990|publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref>

{{cite journal|title=Mitchell and Williams Receive Kennedy Center Honors in December|journal=Jet|date=September 27, 1993|volume=84|issue=22|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |access-date=September 16, 2014|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|issn=0021-5996}}

== Honors and awards ==

Williams was honored by the [[MacArthur Foundation]] in 1993, stating that she was among "the last surviving links to gospel's golden age...one of the most versatile singers of her generation."<ref name="Jet 19930927">{{cite journal|title=Mitchell and Williams Receive Kennedy Center Honors in December|journal=Jet|date=September 27, 1993|volume=84|issue=22|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |access-date=September 16, 2014|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|issn=0021-5996}}</ref>

She was one of the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1993. Her tribute included an all-star lineup including appearances by [[Billy Preston]], [[Little Richard]], and [[Aretha Franklin]].<ref name="philly.com 1993">{{cite web |title=Celebrating Marion Williams Tonight On Cbs, The Gospel Singer From North Philadelphia Receives The Kennedy Center Treatment |url=http://articles.philly.com/1993-12-29/entertainment/25941177_1_gospel-singer-wonderful-day-anthony-heilbut |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921111424/http://articles.philly.com/1993-12-29/entertainment/25941177_1_gospel-singer-wonderful-day-anthony-heilbut |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2015 |website=philly.com |date=December 29, 1993 |last=Carter |first=Kevin L. |access-date=September 16, 2014}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Williams was an esteemed member and Church Mother at the BM Oakley Memorial [[Church of God in Christ]] in Philadelphia under the pastorate of the late Mother Irene A. Oakley.<ref name=BlackPast_MarionWilliams>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aah/williams-marion-1927-1994|title=Williams, Marion (1927–1994) – The Black Past: Remembered and Children Reclaimed, Robin Williams Sr. Grandchildren, Robin Williams Jr, Ryan Williams, Dominique Williams Reclaimed|website=www.blackpast.org|date=December 2013 |access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref>

Williams died at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia on July 2, 1994, aged 66.<ref name="NYT 19940704">{{cite news |first1=Jon |last1=Pareles |title=Marion Williams Is Dead at 66; Influential Pioneer of Gospel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/04/obituaries/marion-williams-is-dead-at-66-influential-pioneer-of-gospel.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 4, 1994 |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=September 16, 2014}}</ref> She was interred at [[Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)|Ivy Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newall |first1=Mike |title=Philadelphia cemetery struggles with coronavirus victims, a Philadelphia cemetery aims to preserve the dignity of the dead |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-ivy-hill-cemetery-crematory-20200505.html |website=www.inquirer.com |date=May 5, 2020 |publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer |access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4784252 NPR Story]

{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1990s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Marion}}

[[Category:MacArthur Fellows]]

[[Category:1927 births]]

[[Category:1994 deaths]]

[[Category:American gospel singers]]

[[Category:Singers from Miami]]

[[Category:African-American Christians]]

[[Category:American performers of Christian music]]

[[Category:Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)]]

[[Category:20th-century African-American women singers]]

[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]

[[Category:20th-century American singers]]

[[Category:Kennedy Center honorees]]