Jim Williams
Musician · 1932–2012 · Wythe County, Virginia
Best known for
Mandolin
Jim Williams was a Virginia-born mandolinist nicknamed "Big Jim" whose 1950s sideman résumé with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Mac Wiseman's Country Boys, and the Stanley Brothers placed him at WCYB Bristol's Farm and Fun Time at the heart of postwar bluegrass — later turning to bluegrass-gospel partnerships with Red Ellis and full-time evangelical ministry.
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- Full name Jimmy Lee Williams; born February 29, 1932 in Wythe County, Virginia; nicknamed "Big Jim Williams" in Detroit due to his tall stature.
- 1950s sideman with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (under Ezra Cline), Mac Wiseman's Country Boys, and the Stanley Brothers (Carter and Ralph) at WCYB Bristol.
- Recorded with Mac Wiseman's Country Boys for Dot Records before joining the Stanleys in 1952.
- Moved to Detroit in 1955 to work at General Motors' Cadillac factory; cut bluegrass-meets-rock'n'roll sides for Fortune and Clix records mid-1950s.
- Teamed with singer/multi-instrumentalist Red Ellis 1958–1961 for bluegrass-gospel records on Starday and Jessup; cut 30+ songs with Ellis.
- Underwent a religious conversion and became a full-time evangelical preacher; reunited with Ellis for sessions in the early 1970s.
- Continued religious-music ministry into the 1990s.
- Other band affiliations: The Williams Brothers (with cousin Paul Humphrey) and Jimmy Williams and the Shady Valley Boys. Died in 2012.
