Marion Williams: Difference between revisions

{{short description|American gospel singer (1927 –19941927–1994)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=SeptemberOctober 20142022}}<!--[[WP:STRONGNAT]]-->

| 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]]

| occupation occupations = Singer

| years_active = =

| label = =

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]].

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 didfinally sojoined 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.

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 Starsnew of Faithgroup 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.

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 Herrecording that is perhaps her best-known hit, ''"Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go''", is from this period.

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. Marion Williams also performed two songs on the''[[The Merv Griffin show, andShow]]''; during the appearance she and Merv Griffin sang a duet of "[[He's gotGot the wholeWhole worldWorld in His handsHands]]" together as a duet. During this appearance she also discussed her international touring plans.

=== InfluencesInfluence ===

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>

[[Category:MusiciansSingers from Miami]]