Mr. Williams has recorded soundtracks for movies including Les Choix des Armes; McKenna's Gold with Gregory Peck; David Lynch's, Twin Peaks " Fire Walk With Me"; Spike Lee's, "Clockers" etc. Television commercials include, Coca-Cola; Old Spice; Tott's Champagne; Prudential Insurance; Chemical Bank; Alpo Dog Food; HBO; Budweiser Beer; etc. TV shows include an appearance on the Johnny Carson " Tonight Show' with Errol Garner; the Jay Leno "Tonight Show" where he performed five of his original compositions with the Branford Marsalis Tonight Show Band. Other television shows include: Sesame Street with Joe Williams; A&E (Arts and Entertainment) with Bill Cosby; The Joan Rivers Show with Bill Cosby; The Andy Williams Show with Nancy Wilson; the Joey Bishop Show; the Grammy Awards with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Bobby McFerrin; the Mike Douglas Show; the Today Show; etc.
Awards include a Grammy in 1979; the Min-On Art Award; the SGI Glory Award the SGI Cultural Award; the RVC Corporation RCA Best Seller Award; NEA recipient; New York Fellowship Grant; 5 Stars from Downbeat magazine for the album "Crystal Reflections" listed in Who's Who in Black America; and numerous proclamations.
Charles Anthony Williams, Jr. (nickname: Buster) was born in Camden, New Jersey on April 17, 1942. His mother, Gladys worked as a seamstress and his father, Charles Anthony Williams, Sr. (nick-name: Cholly), a bassist, worked various day jobs to support his five children, and at night played gigs to support his musical spirit.
"My father was my teacher. He would prepare my lessons for me,'' Buster recalls, "and when I got home from school I was supposed to practice, then he would listen while he was eating his dinner. It was an unwritten law that I had to play it right or hear about it. I was going to be the best. I had no choice. In those days, instead of a two car family, we were a two bass family. My father was a fan of Slam Stewart, and he strung his basses the way Slam did. Instead of the regular G-D-A-E, he strung a high C; ie,C-G-D-A. Adding the C string puts the playing of higher-pitched passages at a more comfortable position. Of course, when he decided to teach me he restrung one of his basses in the traditional manner for me. He told me, 'If I re-string my bass for you, you'd better be serious!'"
And Buster indeed was serious. In 1959 he began working with Jimmy Heath whose quartet included Sam Dockery on piano and the legendary Specs Wright on drums. What I learned from Jimmy about music and life was so valuable that bits and pieces of that experience continue to unfold even now. It was like taking a Time release "capsule of knowledge." At the age of age 17, he began playing with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, just one month after graduating from Camden High School in 1960, and stayed with them for a year until the band got stranded in Kansas City. My parents had told me to always keep my train fare home tucked away in a bible, which they had given me. Well this was great lookin' out, but I would probably never have a problem, I thought. Wrong. When the problem did occur I was out on the road broke. Gene Ammons had run off with all the money and nobody got paid. Fortunately, I, along with the piano player and drummer was able to work a week with Al Hibbler, and thereby earn my train fare back home.
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