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Felton Williams Interview

Highly regarded among steel guitarists who grew up in the Church of the Living God, Jewell Dominion, Felton Williams was a talented man with a lifelong thirst for knowledge. He was born in Tupelo Mississippi in 1934. Following the premature death of his father, at the age of four, he moved with his mother and four siblings to Mt. Clemons, about twenty miles northeast of Detroit, Michigan. As an adult, he went to work for the Ford Motor Company where through hard work, a four-year apprenticeship, and vocational studies at a local community college, he became a skilled electrician. He built steel guitars in his home workshop, one of which is on exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He wound his own pickups, fashioned amplifiers incorporating circuits he designed, and even created some electronic effects for his guitars. At his home in the Detroit suburb of Ecorse, he served as a musical and spiritual mentor for several aspiring teenage steel guitarists who gathered there regularly. Among them were Sonny Treadway, Calvin Cook, Ronnie Hall and Wayne White, all of whom became highly skilled church musicians who played significant roles in shaping the music of the Jewell and Keith Dominions.

– Robert Stone

Click here to view Williams’s guitar at the National Museum of African American History and Culture digital archive.

Felton Williams

This is an interview originally recorded for research purposes. It is presented here in its raw state, unedited except to remove some irrelevant sections and blank spaces. All rights to the interview are reserved by the Arhoolie Foundation. Please do not use anything from this website without permission. info@arhoolie.org

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Interviewee: Felton Williams
Interviewer: Robert Stone
Date: 8/28/03
Location: Telephone
Language: English

For the archive overview:
The Robert Stone Sacred Steel Archive

Felton Williams Interview Transcripts:

Dear friends,

On Giving Tuesday, we announced the capital campaign to purchase our building at 10341 San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito — home to the Arhoolie Foundation (and before that Arhoolie Records), Les Blank Films, and Down Home Music Store since 1976. We’ve been heartened by the community’s response to our fundraising announcement. To all who have donated so far: thank you. We couldn’t do this without you.

Now, while there is a contract in place to buy the building in partnership with Les Blank Films, we need to raise $1.2 million — our half of the purchase price — by April 15. Donations to the campaign can be made via the link below, by check, or by bank transfer. (To make a bank transfer, please email us at info@arhoolie.org).

In the new year, we look forward to collaborating with Les Blank Films and Down Home Music to bring more public programming to our community. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz’s tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture.

If you’re interested in donating and would like to discuss our plans for the building, please don’t hesitate to email director Adam Machado at adam@arhoolie.org.

Thank you for your support as we begin this exciting new chapter!

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