ArtistInfo

Brent Williams

voc, vn, acg, *1940 CA
Singer of Country and World

BRENT WILLIAMS Born: March 25, 1940 - Hassett, Nova Scotia, Canada Singer and multi-instrumentalist Brent Williams has been active on the Canadian music scene for over five decades. The Hassett, Nova Scotia-born Williams first recorded in the 1960s as part of the Canadian Maritimes-based duo, "Brent & Harry", with fellow Nova Scotian, Harry Cromwell. The act featured the first black recording artists in Canadian country music. Brent & Harry recorded two albums for the Banff/Rodeo label in the 1960's, "Country Special" (RBS-1159) and "More Country" (RBS-1212). Brent Williams first performed as part of "The Maritimes Playboys", a bluegrass trio from Nova Scotia, and then as a member of Vic Mullen's "Birch Mountain Boys" (with Cromwell and fellow Canuck Angus Walker). Later, after a three-year stint on the road in the band of Quebec country legend Marcel Martel, Brent Williams moved to Toronto and began to pursue a solo career in country music, releasing a series of albums on the Marathon Records label. His first album, "On The Go" (Marathon ALS-256), released in 1970, contained mostly cover versions of country hits of the day. The follow-up, "In You I Believe" (Marathon ALS-305) featured three original songs written by Brent Williams including the title track tune and the single "My Fortune Wheel" b/w "Holiday On Georgian Bay" (Marathon PA-1045). Williams' third album for the Marathon label was entitled "Everybody's Beautiful" (Marathon ALS-325) and featured his original songs "Hot Hot Toddy", and "You're Making Wedding Plans". The album failed to chart any singles. Following his lengthy stay with Marathon Records, Brent Williams moved on to Boot Records in 1972, recording sessions in Nashville. While an album on Boot never materialized, Brent did chart two singles for the label, "Back Home In Georgia" (Boot-043) which peaked at #25 on the RPM Charts, and "Til' I Can't Take It Anymore" (Boot-057) which reached #27 on the charts in 1973. In 1978 Brent Williams recorded the album "I Wish You Were With Me Tonight", released on the Grand Slam Records label (GS-1977) (a subsidiary of Gary Buck's Broadland Records). The package, recorded at The Mercey Brothers Studios in Elmira, Ontario, was produced by Canadian Hall of Famer Dallas Harms. The album featured four songs penned by Larry Coad, while the title track tune, written by Dallas Harms, was released as a single (Grand Slam-2277) and topped off at #51 on the charts. Other single releases by Brent Williams included the 1980 "I Took Me A Trip Back Home" b/w "It's Better That I Said Goodbye", released on J-Bash Records (#BW-003); and "Soft Shoulders & Dangerous Curves" and "Standin' Up Sleepin" on the J-Bash label (BW-005). In recent years Brent Williams has released a steady string of CD albums covering a variety of musical interests, with titles such as "From Ireland To Canada", Straight Fiddle Talk", "My Christmas Wish", "Bluegrass Memories", "Frogs & Bowhair", "Hobos, Trains & Love Songs", etc. Brent Williams was inducted into the Nova Scotia Hall Of Fame in 2014. TRIVIA NOTE: During his tenure as a recording artist, Brent Williams also found time to own and operate his own country music club and hotel in Welland, Ontario. In recent years he has returned to and is based out of his home province of Nova Scotia.

Instruments

• Vocals
• Violin
• Acoustic guitar

Genres

• Country
• World
• Folk

Plays With