EARL GUITAR WILLIAMS IS A TOWERING BLUESMAN, DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE SOUTHERN SOUL TRADITION, OF ALABAMA, WHERE HE WAS BORN IN 1952. FAR REMOVED FROM THE SPOTLIGHT AND RECOGNITION THAT MIGHT HAVE BROUGHT HIM WIDER POPULARITY AND A LARGER AUDIENCE, WILLIAMS BEGAN PLAYING GUITAR AND HARMONICA IN THE EARLY 1970S. HE WORKED IN A STEEL PLANT, FORMED SEVERAL BANDS WITH HIS COLLEAGUE LEE CHARLES MITCHELL, TOURED WITH SOUL LEGEND JOHNNY TAYLOR, AND ALSO WORKED ALONGSIDE BLUES SINGER BENNY LATIMORE, EVENTUALLY BECOMING HIS MANAGER. ALTHOUGH HE NEVER COMPLETELY ABANDONED MUSIC, IN 1986 HE OPENED THE INTENSIVE CARE BEAUTY SALON IN BESSEMER, CONTINUED PERFORMING IN SMALL CLUBS, AND RECORDED SEVERAL ALBUMS THAT RECEIVED LITTLE ATTENTION. IN ITS ONGOING AND INVALUABLE MISSION TO BRING OVERLOOKED BLUES MUSICIANS TO PUBLIC ATTENTION, MUSIC MAKER FOUNDATION HAS REDISCOVERED EARL WILLIAMS FOR BLUES FANS EVERYWHERE AND RELEASED "THE SOUL KING OF BESSEMER, AL", A SENSATIONAL ALBUM BY A SENSATIONAL BLUESMAN, RESTORING THIS ARTIST TO THE SPOTLIGHT AND CORRECTING AN INJUSTICE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO JUSTIFY. WILLIAMS REPRESENTS THE LIVING PRESENT OF CONTEMPORARY BLUES.