Biography

Mississippian Doug Williams is a contemporary gospel singer, songwriter, and producer from a longtime Billboard-charting musical family. He began singing professionally as a young child in the late '50s with what would become the Williams Brothers, formed in 1960 around Doug, his brothers Leonard and Melvin Williams, and their cousin Henry Green. The group would go on to add several other members, release over 40 albums, and be inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame. As a solo artist, Williams found critical and commercial success from his very first album in 1995. Heartsongs, released by the family's Blackberry Records, was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album at the next year's Grammys and made it to the Top 20 of the Billboard Gospel Albums chart. He also found ongoing work as a producer on albums by gospel artists including but not limited to Mighty Clouds of Joy, Jackson Southernaires, and Willie Norwood. In 1997, he released an album called Duets with his brother Melvin, and a second solo album, When Mercy Found Me, followed in 1999. They both hit the U.S. gospel chart. Duets II arrived in 2004, and a live album simply titled Live was issued in 2009. In the meantime, Williams continued to work behind the scenes in the gospel industry, contributing songs, production, and performances to other artists' albums and running his family's record label. In late 2015, the passionate ballad "All of Me" appeared from the album Crossover, expected in mid-2016. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi