Anthony Williams (musician)
Anthony Williams,
Life
Williams was born on 24 June 1931, at the General Hospital in
Williams went on to become the leading Ping Pong player in the band Sun Valleyians, which comprised a group of teenagers and grew to become the legendary steel orchestra, Sun Valley.
Williams was a recipient of the Chaconia Medal (Gold) and the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Williams was a pioneer of the steel pan, along with
In 1953, Williams presented a soprano pan with the notes laid out in a circle of fifths. Because the instrument's surface looked like a spider's web, he called it the "Spider Web Pan".[3]
He was the bandleader, pan-tuner and arranger of the Pan Am North Stars and won the Panorama twice, once in 1963 and again in 1964.
Williams received the Chaconia Medal (Gold) in 1992.[4]
He further received the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, presented by President George Maxwell Richards in 2008.[5]
On 21 December 2021, Williams died at the age of 90 from complications of COVID-19.[6]
Further reading
- Felix I. R. Blake: The Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan: History and Evolution. ISBN 0-9525528-0-9
Notes
- ^ Doughty, Melissa (22 December 2021). "Tony 'Muffman' Williams, father of modern steelband, dies". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Steelband 1950 - 1959".
- ISBN 978-0-19-972437-6.
- ^ Bishop, Verdel (21 December 2021). "Pan pioneer Anthony Williams dies of Covid". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Order of Republic". Tntisland.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Doughty, Melissa (21 December 2021). "Pan pioneer Anthony 'Tony' Williams dies". newsday.co.tt. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
External links
- Anthony Williams at AllMusic
- Anthony Williams discography at Discogs
- Anthony Williams: Steelpan Innovator Extraordinaire
- Steelband Pioneers on YouTube