Search
Close this search box.

Gospel Music Legend Melvin Williams Receives First EMMY Award Nomination

Melvin Williams (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mississippi Public Broadcasting)

*Gospel Music legend Melvin Williams, a member of the award-winning Williams Brothers, has received a 2018 Southeast EMMY Award nomination for Special Event Coverage of his new documentary, “Melvin Williams: Down Home Gospel.” The film, which examines Williams’ journey from his roots in Smithdale, Mississippi, to a stellar, five-decade career in music and entertainment, will premiere nationally on PBS during Gospel Heritage Month 2018 (September) in more than 200 markets. The film initially aired on Mississippi Public Broadcasting on March 4, 2017, and January 26, 2018.

The 44th Annual Southeast Emmy Awards will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018, at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by CNN’s Anchor Fredricka Whitfield, the Southeast EMMY Awards categories honor journalists, television producers, photographers, documentary filmmakers, and others making a positive difference by connecting audiences with new ideas and trusted information.

“I am honored to receive my first Emmy nomination for ‘Down Home Gospel,’” says Williams, a 19-time Stellar Gospel Music Award winner who has been singing since the age of 6. “I feel blessed to share my story and my family’s story with the world. I love gospel music, and I am on a mission to preserve its roots and culture globally.”

In “Down Home Gospel,” Williams’ acoustic band performs a stirring set, ranging from freedom songs to his own Gospel hits, including “Cooling Water.” He also talks about his humble beginnings in Mississippi, his parents, three sisters, and seven brothers (one brother died a few months after birth, and his brother Frank, who founded the Mississippi Mass Choir, passed away in 1993). He also shares stories about the family’s musical legacy, from the Little Williams Brothers to the Sensational Williams Brothers to the Williams Brothers to Melvin’s solo career, and how his brothers Frank and Huey of the famed Jackson Southernaires influenced his career. The 60-minute documentary features music from Williams’ ninth solo album, “Melvin Williams: Down Home Gospel,” which will be released this fall.

The documentary also features Melvin’s version of the classic “Go Down Moses,” which was described as “a Santana-esque Spanish guitar and Mavis Staples performance all rolled into one” by Don Allan Mitchell, Chair of Language & Literature at Delta State University, at two recent GRAMMY Museum concerts in Los Angeles and Mississippi.

Melvin Williams (Photo Credit: Bridget Fleury and Associates)

“Growing up, we lived in a four-bedroom house built from the ground up by my dad, Leon ‘Pop’ Williams—a carpenter and brick mason—on more than 100 acres of farmland,” says Williams, a seven-time Grammy Award nominee. “I still reside on ten acres of that land. My dad had a farm and a garden. We grew and ate all of our food from our farm including Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, string beans, okra, tomatoes, peanuts and more. We also raised cows, hogs, chickens, mules, and horses.

“The one thing I wasn’t too fond of as a young kid was picking cotton,” Melvin continues. “After we reached a certain age and size, my father expected us to pick one hundred pounds of cotton each day. Though it was not my favorite thing to do, it taught me discipline and how to make ends meet. It also taught me how to connect and get along with people.”

“Down Home Gospel” is executive produced by Williams, Bridget Fleury, Ronnie Agnew and John Gibson; and produced by Fleury and Taiwo Gaynor. The Melvin Williams band is led by Music Director Stan Jones with a special performance by the Jubilee Performing Arts Chamber Choir, a multicultural youth choir of McComb, Mississippi, led by Music Directors Terrance Alexander and Elliott Johnson.

In 2015, Williams launched his two-hour nationally syndicated weekly radio show “Down Home Gospel,” which airs Sundays from 4 to 6 p.m. EST in more than 70 markets on the Rejoice Musical Soul Food Network.

Williams has shared the stage with gospel and soul greats Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Smokey Robinson, Aaron Neville, and Aretha Franklin, with whom he has made numerous special concert appearances, including performances at the White House for President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Williams’ global multi-media platform also includes the initiative Preserve Traditional Gospel Music, which he co-founded with Bridget Fleury, his manager and business partner. “Documenting Gospel music history and having the artists share their stories is imperative for future generations,” says Fleury. “I am grateful to be nominated for an EMMY Award as a producer on this project.”

In 2011, Williams was appointed as the United States Music Ambassador to the U.S. Department of State global initiative, The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center.

For more information on Melvin Williams and Preserve Gospel Music, please visit www.melvinwilliams.net and www.preservegospelmusic.com.

For more information, or to order tickets for the Southeast EMMY® Awards, please visit, www.SoutheastEmmy.com.

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

The Rivingtons - Papa Oom Maw Maw
'The Killer's Game' cast at LA Premiere - screenshot
Shannon Sharpe
Harvard University - iStock
Deonte Atwell
Leimert Park Jazz Festival logo
Jimmy Fallon, Cookie Monste
Linsey Davis - Getty
Donald Trump - Kamala Harris (Getty composite)
DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN
Tyrese Gibson
Read More
Lizzo (Getty)
Read More
Tim Walz at 2024 DNC - screenshot
Read More
Steve Harvey
Read More
Elon Musk - Getty
Read More
Monica and Brandy
Read More
Ghostface Killah
Read More
Kamala Harris - via CBM
Read More
Lori Harvey
Read More
Sean Diddy Combs Beyonce Jay-Z / GettyImages
Read More

POPULAR

The Rivingtons - Papa Oom Maw Maw
Rememba This One: 'Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow' - A Timeless Doo-Wop Hit That Captured the Spirit of the 60s | ListenWatch
'The Killer's Game' cast at LA Premiere - screenshot
The Killer’s Game LA Premiere: A Night of Action, Romance, and Laughter | EURexclusiveWATCH
Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe's Viral Slip Won't Lead to Discipline from ESPN - 'You Ain’t Gay Today!,' Katt Williams Quipped | LISTEN to the Steamy Action
Harvard University - iStock
Harvard's Black Student Enrollment Drops After Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action
Deonte Atwell
Five Charged (Family and Caregivers) in Starvation Death of 7-Year-Old Boy from Fort Lauderdale - A Grievous Case of Neglect | PicsVideo
Leimert Park Jazz Festival logo
Leimert Park Jazz Festival 2024 Soars High With Greats Old and New - A Review by A. Scott Galloway + PHOTOs
Jimmy Fallon, Cookie Monste
NBC Cuts 'The Tonight Show' to Four Nights a Week Amid Budget Constraints
Linsey Davis - Getty
Fact-Check Fury: Linsey Davis Called Out Trump, and the Internet Responded with Racist Abuse | VIDEO
Donald Trump - Kamala Harris (Getty composite)
'No Mas!' Trump Says There WON'T be A 3rd Presidential Debate | VIDEO
1 2 3 8,289