Paul Williams

Recording Artist · Active 1985–present · Also a musician
Contemporary Bluegrass

Paul Williams is one of the foundational mandolin and tenor-vocal voices of bluegrass and bluegrass-gospel, best known as the lead singer of Jimmy Martin's classic Sunny Mountain Boys lineup with J.D. Crowe and Bill Emerson, and as the longtime leader of the Victory Trio.

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  • Born Paul Humphrey on March 30, 1935 in Wytheville, Virginia; took the stage name "Paul Williams" in the early 1950s. Long based in Morristown, Tennessee.
  • Started his career as guitarist and lead singer with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in the early 1950s.
  • Joined Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys in 1957, replacing Earl Taylor on mandolin; the Martin–Williams–Crowe lineup that recorded for Decca through the early 1960s is widely regarded as one of the most dynamic in bluegrass history.
  • Co-wrote Jimmy Martin's signature hit "Hold Whatcha Got" along with "Mr. Engineer," "Steppin' Stones," "Don't Cry to Me," and other staples of the Martin catalog.
  • Left Martin's band in 1963 to focus on gospel music; sang with the Northside Quartet through the following decades.
  • Founded Paul Williams and the Victory Trio in 1995, recording for Rebel Records; the group earned a Grammy nomination and multiple IBMA nominations through the 2000s.
  • Won the IBMA Recorded Event of the Year and Gospel Recorded Event of the Year in 2010 for Old Friends Get Together on the Mountain Home, recorded with J.D. Crowe and Doyle Lawson; followed up with Standing Tall and Tough (2014) and the Doyle Lawson duet album Chapter Three (2017).
  • Inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

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