Brent Williams | |
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Born | Hassett, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Genres | Gospel, Country, Bluegrass |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Levi Brenton (Brent) Williams (born March 25, 1940), is a multi-instrumental Canadian gospel, country and bluegrass entertainer from Hassett, Nova Scotia. Williams is considered one of Canada's earliest bluegrass performers, [1] [2] has appeared on several notable TV programs on the CBC, CTV, and many other networks in addition to winning many awards for his music and for his achievements and role as a pioneering Canadian entertainer. [3] He has released a number of top 100 charting songs in addition to working with several notable entertainers such as The Carter Family, Ronnie Prophet, Vic Mullen, Fred McKenna, Shania Twain, Charlie Louvin, Marcel Martel, Angus Walker, The Mercey Brothers, Myrna Lorrie, Stompin' Tom Connors, Osborne Bros, Wilburn Bros, Je an Sheppard, Dallas Harms, Oakridge Boys, among others. [4]
Brent Williams was born on a small farm in Hassetts, Nova Scotia, to Ethel Ena May Williams on March 25, 1940. [5] He was the youngest of eight children and was "Influenced by his mother's love of music and encouraged by his brother to begin playing guitar" [4] early in life. His interest in being a career performer began by listening to numerous acts featured on The Grand Ole Opry when he was seven or eight years old. [6] [3] Williams acquired his first guitar at the age of six [7] when his mother ordered him one from a Sears catalog for $9.95 [1] and his brother Robert first started to show him how to play. [5] Williams would also begin a lifelong friendship with his neighbour and future bandmate, Harry Cromwell, during these early years.
When Williams was a teenager, he began his musical career when he started playing at local parties dances and competitions with Harry Cromwell. [1] In 1957, Williams relocated to his older sister's residence in Halifax to work a construction job. [1] In the fall of that year, Williams received a call from Cromwell who informed him that professional musician Vic Mullen had heard of the duo's performances and was interested in forming a bluegrass band with them which was a relatively new genre in Canada at that point. [1] Williams moved back to Hassetts and the three began a band called The Birch Mountain Boys upon his return. Between the fall of 1957 and the spring of 1958, Mullen taught Williams and Cromwell how to play the fiddle and mandolin in the bluegrass style, respectively. [5] During the spring 1961, the Birch Mountain Boys began to tour and play at various small venues across the Maritime provinces with Williams on fiddle, vocals and rhythm guitar, Cromwell on lead guitar and mandolin and Vic Mullen playing the 5-string banjo. Over the course of their time together, The Birch Mountain Boys became "...one of the first to play and record bluegrass music north of the border..." [6] The Birch Mountain Boys incorporated various other musicians as bassists during this time and the musician that worked with The Birch Mountain Boys the most was Angus Walker who eventually became a permanent member of the group. [5]
After The Birch Mountain Boys disbanded in 1961, [8] Williams and Cromwell toured as "The Brent & Harry Show", utilizing various "pick-up bands" from locations they performed at in the Maritimes. [5] Later, the duo were given an opportunity to appear on the popular CBC program Don Messer's Jubilee where they were joined once again by Vic Mullen for the performance. They also appeared on a program led by Vic Mullen during this period called CJCH Jamboree. [4] It was also during this time that the duo recorded their first record as featured performers titled "Country Special with Brent & Harry" with Mullen and Walker providing fiddle and bass, respectively. [5] In 1962, the duo joined "The Beck Family", led by George Beck who held contests in New Germany and in other towns in Nova Scotia until Beck, Williams and Cromwell started another band called "George Beck and The Maritime Playboys". The group worked with Hall of Fame musician, Ross Broughm who appeared as a lead guitarist during the period. [5] Later, Beck negotiated an arrangement where the group toured northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé region of Quebec while also appearing on the program the CHAU-TV Jamboree originating out of Carleton, Quebec. Angus Walker joined The Maritime Playboys shortly thereafter. [5] In 1963, Williams and Cromwell transitioned to Drummondville, Quebec after receiving an offer to join notable French Canadian performer Marcel Martell's band [4] and TV show on CHLT-TV in Sherbrooke, Quebec and also performed regularly in Montreal during this time. [5]
Williams began his solo career in 1965 when he transitioned to Toronto, Ontario playing at several venues in the nightclub scene there, such as The Matador until 1969. Starting in 1970, Williams recorded and released several albums for Marathon Records until moving to Boot Records where he recorded two singles that charted on RPM Magazine's weekly ranking. "Back Home in Georgia" reached number 25 [9] in 1972 and "Til' I Can't Take it Anymore" which reached number 37 in 1973. [10] Also that year, Williams became a founding member of The Canadian Country Music Association. [5] In 1975, Williams won The Bon Soo fiddle competition in Sault Ste. Marie. [5] In 1978, "I Wish You Were With Me Tonight" was released Grand Slam Record Label and peaked at number 47. [11] Also In both 1976 and 1977, Williams received certificates of merit from The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. [4] Williams was nominated for the CCMA Award in the Outstanding Artist Award category in 1978. [5] During the 1980s, Williams released a number of recordings on the J-Bash record label and performed at Walmart stores across Canada during the 90's. Starting in the early 2000s, Williams focussed mostly on recording and performing gospel music. [4] In 2013, Williams was inducted into The Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the music industry. [4] Williams returned to CBC programming in 2015 when he was the featured musician in Studio Black!, a show that tells African Canadian stories and received a lifetime achievement award from the African Nova Scotian Music Association around this time. [3]
Year | Nominated work / Recipient | Category | Result |
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1978 | Brent Williams | Outstanding Artist | Nominated |
Nova Scotia is a province on the east coast of Canada, and is one of the three Maritime provinces.
Robert Lorne Stanfield was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1967 to 1976.
The music of Canada's Maritime provinces has included many artists from both the traditional and pop genres, and is mostly European in origin. The traditional genre is dominated by the music brought to the region by the European settlers, the most well known of which are the Scots & Irish celtic and Acadian traditions. Successful pop acts from all genres have had degrees of national and international success since the beginning of recorded music period. Performers as diverse as Hank Snow, Stan Rogers, Anne Murray, the Rankin Family, Barachois, The Men of the Deeps and April Wine have all experienced tremendous success as popular music acts with considerable national and international tours and record sales.
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Ben Kerr was a Canadian author, broadcaster, musician and perennial candidate, who was most famous as one of Toronto, Ontario's quirky street performers.
In the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, Celtic music has played a significant role, both in its traditional forms and fused with other musical styles. Nova Scotia's folk music features traditional tunes brought over from the Scottish Highlands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as localized forms such as Cape Breton fiddle music. In recent years, a wide variety of other musical genres have emerged in Nova Scotia, which has produced several country music stars such as Hank Snow, Wilf Carter, Anne Murray, and Rita MacNeil.
Donald Charles Frederick Messer was a Canadian musician, band leader, radio broadcaster, and defining icon of folk music during the 1960s. His CBC Television series Don Messer’s Jubilee (1959–69) featured Messer's down-east fiddle style and the "old-time" music of Don Messer and His Islanders, and was one of the most popular and enduring Canadian television programs of the 1960s. Messer was known as a shy fiddler, who preferred to have the other members of the band take the spotlight.
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The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3, 1973, when a group of twelve entertainers, promoters and radio personalities met at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario, and formed a board of directors to help promote Canadian content. The group included Jury Krytiuk, president of Boot Records, Bod Dalton, a promotor, Sean Eyre, DJ Lindsay, radio personality Harold Moon who worked for BMI Records, Jack Starr of The Horseshoe Tavern, Barry Haugen of RCA Records, Vic Folliott of Brantford Radio, Mary Butterill of the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada, Ben Kerr who was a musician and promoter, and Brent Williams, a notable country and bluegrass entertainer. This group was aided by future Country Music Awards organizer and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Joe Talbot who flew up from Nashville especially for this meeting. The association changed its name to the Canadian Country Music Association in 1987.
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