Lamar Williams
Encyclopedia
Lamar Williams was an American
musician, most known as the bassist
for The Allman Brothers Band
and Sea Level
.
Influenced by players from James Jamerson
to Stanley Clarke
, by the 1960s Williams was playing bass in a soul music
band known as Sounds of Soul with Jai Johanny Johanson
, the future drummer Jaimoe with the Allman Brothers.
In 1968 Williams was drafted into the United States Army
and sent into the Vietnam War
. Opposed to the war and to killing in general, Williams went AWOL frequently and wandered around the jungles of South Vietnam, occasionally returning to various units. He was given an honorable discharge in 1970.
After jamming with a Biloxi group known as the Fungus Blues Band, Williams joined the Allman Brothers Band
in late 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley
, and played in the band at the peak of their commercial success. Williams' style was more traditional than Oakley's lead guitar-like approach, and freed the band's drummers to be more adventurous.
After the Allmans dissolved in 1976, Williams founded Sea Level with Jaimoe and Chuck Leavell
of the Allmans. In Sea Level he played in a looser, more jazz-like fashion. Williams left Sea Level in 1980, shortly before that band broke up.
Williams married Marian Belina in 1974 and they had two children. One child, Lamar Williams Jr., is also a musician and currently plays with the Athens, GA based band the Revival.
Williams was found to have lung cancer
in 1981, caused (his doctors believed) by exposure to Agent Orange
during his stay in Vietnam
. He died less than two years later, aged 34.
One of Williams' brothers, James Williams, is also a bassist. He is a leader of the Lansing, Michigan-based blues band Root Doctor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician, most known as the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
for The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
and Sea Level
Sea Level (band)
Sea Level is the name of a fusion group that mixed jazz, blues and rock. It existed between 1976 and 1981. Initially, it was an offshoot of The Allman Brothers Band, but as tensions grew between the loss of two of its founding members, and personal greivances between Gregg Allman and other...
.
Influenced by players from James Jamerson
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...
to Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
, by the 1960s Williams was playing bass in a soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
band known as Sounds of Soul with Jai Johanny Johanson
Jai Johanny Johanson
Jai Johanny Johanson , frequently known by the stage name Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Early years:...
, the future drummer Jaimoe with the Allman Brothers.
In 1968 Williams was drafted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and sent into the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Opposed to the war and to killing in general, Williams went AWOL frequently and wandered around the jungles of South Vietnam, occasionally returning to various units. He was given an honorable discharge in 1970.
After jamming with a Biloxi group known as the Fungus Blues Band, Williams joined the Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
in late 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley
Berry Oakley
Raymond Berry Oakley III , was an American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Biography:...
, and played in the band at the peak of their commercial success. Williams' style was more traditional than Oakley's lead guitar-like approach, and freed the band's drummers to be more adventurous.
After the Allmans dissolved in 1976, Williams founded Sea Level with Jaimoe and Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell is an American pianist and keyboardist, who was a member of The Allman Brothers Band throughout the height of their popularity, a founding member of the jazz-rock combo Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and later, the keyboardist for Eric Clapton and The Rolling...
of the Allmans. In Sea Level he played in a looser, more jazz-like fashion. Williams left Sea Level in 1980, shortly before that band broke up.
Williams married Marian Belina in 1974 and they had two children. One child, Lamar Williams Jr., is also a musician and currently plays with the Athens, GA based band the Revival.
Williams was found to have lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1981, caused (his doctors believed) by exposure to Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
during his stay in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. He died less than two years later, aged 34.
One of Williams' brothers, James Williams, is also a bassist. He is a leader of the Lansing, Michigan-based blues band Root Doctor.
External links
- Root Doctor http://www.rootdoctorband.com/