Anthony Williams (born 24 June 1931 in Port of Spain,
Trinidad)
Tony, or 'Skip' as he is affectionately called, was one of that rare
breed of complete panmen. He tuned the pans, built the stands on which they
stood, arranged the music that provided those enchanting sounds and
generally looked after every detail of the band's activities.
In the area of tuning, Tony introduced the Spider Web Pan. This design
produced very rich and distinct tones; a feat which top tuners in the
country now acknowledge was a great achievement. With this design, he
arranged the notes in 'fourths' and 'fifths', the standard of the First Pan,
otherwise known as the Tenor, today. Tony also introduced the double cello
and a double strumming pan that was unique to Pan Am North Stars.
Additional info below
posted with special permission from the
BestOfTrinidad.com
by Ronald C. Emrit - check
link for updates
STEELBANDS: |
Nob Hill (1940s)
Sun Valley (1940s)
North Stars (1950 - 1970s)
TASPO (1951)
|
SPECIALTIES: |
Tuner
Player
Arranger
|
CAREER: Williams began his career in the 1940s with Nob Hill
and later moved to Sun Valley. After a brief stay, he moved over to
North Stars where
he eventually took over the leadership of the band. He was one of
twelve panmen selected to join TASPO as the Trinidad & Tobago
representatives at the 1951 Music Festival in England. He was a
great innovator and was credited with being the first man to put the
multi-drum bass on wheels for ease in moving them on the streets
during Carnival. He worked tirelessly at developing the "spider-web"
pan design and, by 1962, achieved great success when his North Stars
won the Steelband Music Festival. After the Panorama competition was
initiated in 1963, North Stars won the championship the first two
years in 1963 and 1964. The following is a summary of Williams'
record in significant steelband competition:
- Steelband Music Festival
- 1962 - "Voices of Spring" (Johann Strauss), 1st
- 1966 - "Poets and Peasants" (Franz Von Suppe), 1st
- Panorama
- 1963 - "Dan Is the Man in the Van" (Mighty Sparrow), 1st
- 1964 - "Mama Dis Is Mas" (Lord Kitchener), 1st
- 1965 - "Hold on to Your Man" (Lord Kitchener), 2nd
|
AWARDS:
- 1969 - Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird
Medal Bronze (for Steelband Development)
- 1991 - Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird
Medal Silver (for Culture)
- .... - Trinidad & Tobago Order of the
Republic
|
Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit |
|