Yasmeen Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yasmeen Williams
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Sweet Honey in the Rock performing in Japan in 1980
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Betty J. Williams |
| Genres | A cappella, Gospel Music |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Associated acts | Sweet Honey in the Rock, JeffMajors |
Yasmeen Williams is an American gospel singer. She was also known as Betty J. Williams and Yasmeen Bheti Williams-Johnson. For many years, she was a member of the famous African American a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Contents
Early Life and Music
Yasmeen Williams grew up in Washington, D.C. Her father, Rev. Dr. Edgar L. Williams, was a Baptist preacher. Her mother was Deaconess Gladys E. Weaver Williams. Her father led the Second New St. Paul Baptist Church for about 45 years.
Yasmeen learned gospel music from her family. Her cousin, Dr. Shirley Ables-Starks, taught her. Her aunt, Vara Simpson, started two gospel groups. These groups often sang on the radio.
In the mid-1970s, Yasmeen went to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She saw a group of Black women singing without instruments. They were dressed in African clothes. Yasmeen felt a strong connection to them. She hoped to sing with them one day. This group was Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Singing with Sweet Honey in the Rock
About a year after seeing them, Yasmeen joined the D.C. Black Repertory Theatre Company. This was a community program. The leader of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Bernice Johnson Reagon, was in charge of the music there.
In 1976, Bernice Johnson Reagon heard Yasmeen sing. She asked Yasmeen to try out for Sweet Honey in the Rock. Yasmeen was accepted into the group. She sang with Sweet Honey for 17 years. She was a full-time member until 1985. But she often came back to sing for special events and recordings.
Sweet Honey in the Rock traveled all over the world. They sang and worked to help people. A women's group called Roadwork helped them with their tours. Roadwork also created a festival called Sisterfire. This festival brought together many different women artists. Yasmeen was part of Sweet Honey in the Rock during this time. Other members included Bernice Johnson Reagon, Evelyn Harris, Patricia Johnson, and later Ysaye Barnwell.
Sweet Honey in the Rock has won many awards. This includes a Grammy Award for their work on Folkways: A Vision Shared – A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly. The group is very important in American history. They are featured in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. They are also in the National Museum of American History.
Sweet Honey's Music and Shows
While Yasmeen was with the group, they made many recordings. They also performed in big shows.
- They recorded Yasmeen's original song, "When I Die Tomorrow." This was on their album Feel Something Drawing.
- Yasmeen sang on their albums Twenty-Five and Selections: 1976–1988.
- Her song "Colours" was recorded by the group on their album In This Land.
- They released Drinking of the Wine, which was a soundtrack for their documentary.
- They also released Live at Carnegie Hall.
- On the album We All Everyone of Us, Yasmeen's voice is featured on "Sweet Bird of Youth" and "We all Everyone of Us."
- They performed at Baird Auditorium in Washington D.C. to honor the Rev. William Herbert Brewster. He was a famous gospel music composer.
- They released the album Good News.
- Sweet Honey in the Rock sang at the No Nukes: The Muse Concerts. These concerts were for a non-nuclear future.
- On their album Believe I'll Run On, Yasmeen's voice is featured on "Sitting on Top of the World."
Documentaries and TV Shows
Sweet Honey in the Rock was featured in several documentaries and TV shows:
- Wade in the Water, Vol. 3: African-American Gospel: The Pioneering Composers.
- Music of the American Civil War, produced by Ken Burns.
- Eyes on the Prize, a documentary TV series about the Civil Rights Movement.
- The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985.
- Gotta Make This Journey, an award-winning documentary about Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Solo Career
Yasmeen Williams has recorded four solo albums. She also sang on two albums with JeffMajors.
- In 2016, she released the single Live Life.
- In 2014, she released Miraculous: Original Songs of Christmas and Easter.
- Her 2011 album, There Is A River, reached #1 on the Top 30 Independent Gospel Songs Chart.
- In 1993, she released Walking in the Way of Love.
- She worked with JeffMajors on Back to Classics (1989) and For Us All (Yoka Boka) (1986). The song "YASMEEN" was named after her.
Solo Songs
Yasmeen has released several single songs:
- 60 Million (2017)
- When We All Get to Heaven (2014)
- Live Life (2014)
- So Busy (2015)
- Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (2010)
- There Is a River (2015)
What Critics Said
Mike Joyce, a writer for The Washington Post, wrote about Yasmeen. He said her voice was "rich" and "sumptuous." He noted she could sing gospel songs, and also songs by Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan.
Richard Harrington, another writer for The Washington Post, praised Yasmeen's work with Sweet Honey. He said that "When I Die Tomorrow," a song rearranged by Yasmeen, was a "compulsive swirl of polyrhythms."
Family Life
Yasmeen is the mother of a daughter named Summer Williams. She also has six grandchildren.
