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Yasmeen Williams

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Yasmeen Williams
Sweet Honey in the Rock performing in Japan in 1980
Sweet Honey in the Rock performing in Japan in 1980
Background information
Birth nameBetty J. Williams
GenresA cappella, Gospel Music
Occupation(s)singer, songwriter
Instrumentvocals
Websitewww.yasmeensummermusic.com

Yasmeen Williams (Also known as Betty J. Williams, Bheti Yasmeen Williams, and Yasmeen Bheti Williams-Johnson) is an American gospel singer and former member of the African American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Early life

[edit]

Yasmeen Williams is the daughter of Baptist preacher Rev. Dr. Edgar L. Williams[1] and Deaconess Gladys E. Weaver Williams.[2][3] Her father pastored the Second New St. Paul Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. for approximately 45 years.[4]

Williams grew up during the gospel explosion in Washington, D.C. As a youth, she received her training in gospel music from her cousin, Dr. Shirley Ables-Starks[5][6] of the Joy Gospel Singers[7] and her aunt, Vara Simpson, the founder of two gospel groups – The Service Gospel Singers and The Spiritualettes, who were often featured on the Metro D.C. WOOK Radio Station for early Sunday Morning worship.

According to a recent interview,[8] in the mid 1970s Williams attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (then the Festival of American Folklife) and came across a stage that was set up like an old "stoop." She saw a group of Black women sitting on this simulated porch dressed in African attire.[9] As they began to sing a cappella, Williams shared that she could "see my sister’s face in each of those women," and she had the vision of singing with them one day. That group was Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Sweet Honey in the Rock

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About a year after she first heard them sing, Williams joined the D.C. Black Repertory Theatre Company. A community funded program, it was under the directorship of actor Robert Hooks and his wife Rosie.[10] The leader of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Bernice Johnson Reagon, was the Director of the theatre's Music Department.[11]

In 1976, after hearing Williams sing in class one day,[12] Bernice Johnson Reagon, asked Yasmeen to audition for Sweet Honey in the Rock and she was accepted into the group.[13][14] She sang with Sweet Honey for 17 years. While her full-time involvement ended in 1985, she often returned for special events and recordings.[15]

Sweet Honey in the Rock performing in a church circa 1980. Location Unknown; photo credit Amy Horowitz.

Sweet Honey in the Rock traveled the world singing and grassroots organizing.[16] The group was booked internationally by Roadwork, another woman's group that was co-organized by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Amy Horowitz.[17][18][19] Roadwork not only worked with Sweet Honey in the Rock, but also created Sisterfire,[20] an urban, global multiracial women's cultural festival that brought together diverse women artists like Sweet Honey in the Rock, and other radical women artists. Williams was part of Sweet Honey in the Rock during this time period along with Bernice Johnson Reagon, Evelyn Harris, Patricia Johnson, and later Ysaye Barnwell, and was heavily influenced by the management and organization of Roadwork.[21]

The recipients of numerous awards, including a Grammy for their work on Folkways: A Vision Shared – A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly.[22] Sweet Honey in the Rock is an American institution which is featured in the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History.[23]

Recordings and Major Performances

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Major recordings and performances while Williams was active in the group include:

  • When I Die Tomorrow. (1999). Original song by Williams, recorded by Sweet Honey In The Rock with Williams as a contributing vocalist on Feel Something Drawing. Flying Fish Records.
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock (1998). Contributing vocalist on Twenty-Five. Rykodisc
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock. (1997). Contributing vocalist on Selections: 1976–1988. Rounder Records.
  • Colours. (1989). Original song by Williams recorded by Sweet Honey In The Rock and performed by Nitanju Bolade Casel. In This Land. Earthbeat Records.
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock. (1988). Drinking of the Wine Soundtrack to the Sweet Honey In The Rock Documentary. Flying Fish Records.
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock. (1988). Live at Carnegie Hall. Flying Fish Records.
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock. We All Everyone of Us. (1983). Flying Fish Records. Williams' vocals are featured on "Sweet Bird of Youth," and "We all Everyone of Us."
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock (December 1982). Performance at Baird Auditorium in Washington D.C. produced by the Smithsonian's Black American Culture Program honoring the Rev. William Herbert Brewster (a leading composer of gospel music) with a musical retrospective.[24][25]
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock. (1981). Good News. Flying Fish Records.
  • Various Artists including Sweet Honey in the Rock. (1979). No Nukes: The Muse (Musicians United for Safe Energy) Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future. Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden. Warner Brothers.
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock. (1978). Believe I'll Run On. Redwood Records. Williams' vocals are featured on the 2nd verse of "Sitting on Top of the World."
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock with Meg Christian. (1977). Face The Music. Olivia Records.
[edit]
  • Wade in the Water, Vol. 3: African-American Gospel: The Pioneering Composers. (1994). Recorded in 1992 and produced by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in collaboration with National Public Radio. Catalog No. SF40074.[26]
  • Music of the American Civil War. (1990). Produced by Ken Burns.
  • Eyes on the Prize. (1987). Documentary Television Series. Produced by Blackside Productions.
  • The Oprah Winfrey Show. (1985). Sweet Honey in the Rock & The Barrett Sisters. Chicago.
  • Gotta Make This Journey. (1983). Award-winning documentary on Sweet Honey in the Rock by Michele Parkerson.[27]

Publications

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Yasmeen Williams, "Timeless." We Who Believe in Freedom: Sweet Honey In The Rock – Still on the Journey, edited by Bernice Johnson Reagon, Anchor Books Doubleday, 1993, pp. 75–86.

Solo career

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Williams has recorded four solo albums and contributed to two others with JeffMajors.[28][29]

  • (2016) Live Life (Single). Lyrics by Williams. Music by Jeffmajors.
  • (2014). Miraculous: Original Songs of Christmas and Easter. Lyrics by Williams. Music by Tim Adams of True Witness. Produced by Al Johnson & PaRock Productions, Atlanta, GA.
  • (2011). There Is A River. Lyrics by Williams. Music by Alvin “Bink” Wills. Produced by PaRock Productions, Atlanta, GA; Dante Harmon; and Al Johnson. * There Is A River reached #1 on the Top 30 Independent Gospel Songs Chart.[30][31]
  • (1993). Walking in the Way of Love. Produced by Al Johnson, Andre’ Smith, Bill Washington with Dimensions Unlimited, and Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
  • JeffMajors and Bheti Yasmeen Williams. (1989). Back to Classics. Produced by JeffMajors & Williams: Classic Hymns and more on Glasswings Records.
  • JeffMajors. (1986). For Us All (Yoka Boka). Lead Vocals as Bheti Yasmeen Williams. Produced by JeffMajors & Glasswings Records. Includes a song named after her entitled “YASMEEN.”

Singles

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  • 60 Million (2017).[32]
  • When We All Get to Heaven (2014).[33]
  • Live Life (2014).[34]
  • So Busy (2015).[35]
  • Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (2010).[36]
  • There Is a River (2015).[37]
[edit]
Yasmeen Williams with her daughter Summer circa 1994; photo credit Amy Horowitz

Mike Joyce, a columnist for The Washington Post who covered Williams and the D.C. music scene[38][39][40] wrote, "Opening was Yasmeen, the local singer best known for her work with Sweet Honey In The Rock. Her rich alto voice produced some sumptuous chest tones and silvery highs as she moved from a gospel tune to songs composed by Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan."[41]

Richard Harrington from The Washington Post said this of Williams' contributions to Sweet Honey: “The readings of the church standards are excellent, but the most memorable moments come in Sweet Honey’s introduction of two stunning West African songs ‘When I Die Tomorrow,’ uncovered at a Baptist church in Liberia and re-arranged by Yasmeen Williams-Johnson, is a compulsive swirl of polyrhythms and congregational communion.”[42]

Family

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Yasmeen is the mother of Summer Williams and has six grandchildren.[43]

References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: WILLIAMS, REV. DR. EDGAR L., SR". The Washington Post Powered by Legacy. December 11, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  2. ^ Byrd, Maria (December 2014 – January 2015). "Introducing Yasmeen on Her Dynamic Hit Single There Is A River". Gospel USA Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Obituary: GLADYS E. WILLIAMS". The Washington Post Powered by Legacy. February 11, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Visionary – 1958". Second New St. Paul Baptist Church. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "The Magic of Jeffmajors and Yasmeen". Talking Drums Magazine: The Exclusive Magazine Dedicated to Arts, Culture, and the Entertainment Industry in the Southeast. 1 (6): 13–14. September 1989.
  6. ^ Carpenter, Bill (2005). "Shirley Ables." Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia. Backbeat Books. p. 5.
  7. ^ deurecords (15 April 2009). "Shirley Ables & The Joy Gospel Singers Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum". You Tube. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Yasmeen Oral History Final2". Roadwork. 14 June 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Sweet Honey in the World 1974–76". Performing Arts Legacy Project: Carol Maillard. Performing Arts Legacy Project. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Ruble, Blair (September 27, 2019). "Robert Hooks and the pioneering DC Black Repertory Company". DC Theatre Scene. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Harrington, Richard (February 23, 1983). "New Struggles In Sweet Harmony". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Yasmeen Oral History Final2". Roadwork. 14 June 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  13. ^ "Cover Story – Sweet Honey at Nine". Washington Out Magazine. November 11, 1982.
  14. ^ Boyer, Horace Clarence (29 June 2005). "Sweet Honey In The Rock: Raise Your Voice: About Sweet Honey In The Rock (Written: June 29, 2005)". American Masters. PBS.Org. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Brace, Eric (April 8, 1994). "The Band Box". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Johnson Reagon, Ed., Bernice (1993). We Who Believe in Freedom: Sweet Honey In The Rock – Still on the Journey. Anchor Books Doubleday.
  17. ^ "My History". Amy Horowitz. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "Our Story". Roadwork. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  19. ^ Horowitz, Amy (March 28, 2019). ""There and Back Again" An Audiovisual Journey Into Roadwork, 1978–2018". Interface Newsletter. No. March 2019. International Leadership Association. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  20. ^ Harrington, Richard (June 26, 1982). "Laying the Roadwork For Sisterfire". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "Yasmeen Oral History Final2". Roadwork. 14 June 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  22. ^ "1988 Grammy Winners". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  23. ^ "About". Sweet Honey in the Rock. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  24. ^ Joyce, Mike (December 18, 1982). "Tribute to Brewster". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  25. ^ "Inductee: Reverent Herbert Brewster". Memphis Music Hall of Fame. 11 March 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  26. ^ "Wade in the Water, Vol. 3: African-American Gospel: The Pioneering Composers". Smithsonian Folkways Recording. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  27. ^ "Gotta Make This Journey: Sweet Honey in The Rock". Women Make Movies. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  28. ^ Byrd, Maria (December 2014 – January 2015). "Introducing Yasmeen on Her Dynamic Hit Single There Is A River". Gospel USA Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  29. ^ "Artists: The Keepers of Our Culture – What Jeffmajors and Yasmeen Give to African-American Culture". Positive Energy Newsletter: 7. March 1989.
  30. ^ "Top 30 Independent Gospel Songs Chart (Page 17)". Gospel USA Magazine. December 2014 – January 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  31. ^ "Cover Story: Introducing Yasmeen on Her Dynamic Hit Single: There Is A River". Gospel USA Magazine. December 2014 – January 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  32. ^ "60 Million republished 2017". YouTube. Yasmeen Williams. 20 February 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  33. ^ "The Williams Family Singers Yasmeen – When We All Get To Heaven MP3 Music". cdUniverse. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  34. ^ "Live Life". YouTube. Yasmeen Williams. 2 January 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  35. ^ "So Busy – from the CD Miraculous: Original Songs of Christmas & Easter by Yasmeen". YouTube. Yasmeen Williams. 25 December 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  36. ^ "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray – Yasmeen Williams". YouTube. Yasmeen Williams. 27 October 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  37. ^ "Yasmeen Betty Williams There Is A River Official Video YouTube". YouTube. Yasmeen Williams. 27 October 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  38. ^ "Mike Joyce". Jazz Times – America's Jazz Magazine. 26 April 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  39. ^ Joyce, Mike (October 12, 1991). "Yasmeen's Conquering Voice". Washington Post.
  40. ^ Joyce, Mike (July 30, 1987). "Harp and Voice, Strong and Stirring". The Washington Post.
  41. ^ Joyce, Mike (March 10, 1992). "OSCAR BROWN: JAZZ DAD". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  42. ^ Harrington, Richard (November 15, 1985). "Sweet Honey Pours It On". The Washington Post.
  43. ^ Payton, Randi (September 1, 1994). "Yasmeen: Out on Her Own!". EW – Every Wednesday.
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