Virgil and Jimmy Williams

"Nearly twenty years ago on a Sunday morning, a gospel D.J. named Red Ellis was playing a record that Jimmy Williams had recorded with the Stanley Brothers. Jimmy was touring the Ann Arbor, Michigan area and heard the record being played, so he went to the radio station and met Red. They then teamed up to record for one of Nashville's outstanding country labels. In the early seventies, after a number of years of separation, Red and Jimmy teamed up to record the album, "God Brings Bluegrass Back Together", (MB 107) for Jessup Bluegrass Records. Jimmy later recorded the album "Summers Gone", MB132, for the Jessup label.

On this album "Little David's Harp", Red and Jimmy again team up for an outstanding gospel record, done in their traditional Bluegrass style. From the lead-off song of "Little David's Harp", to the final song "When The Train Comes Along", one doesn't tire of the way these two artists compliment each other in their style of delivery, and the urge is there to listen again and again.

"Little David's Harp" was written by Jimmy, and he has come up with a unique sound and arrangement on this record. Of course, the David he is singing about was the great king of Israel, who himself played music for Saul, the first king of that country, when David was just a youngster. The song goes "Can you hear little David's harp, can you hear the angels singing? Then you'll know your soul's been called to rest".

Along with Red and Jimmy, the back-up work has Virgil Shouse doing the excellent fiddle work, Gene Saylor on banjo and Lynn Hall on bass. "All Your Love", features Jimmy's son, Virgil Williams, singing harmony as does "Everybody Ought To Know" and "We're Gonna Have A Time". "So High", features Red on the vocal, Jimmy on the mandolin, Virgil Shouse on fiddle and Gene once again on banlo. "When The Train Comes Along", also has Jimmy sharing the vocal. "I'll Tell You The Reason", has Jimmy on vocal with Shouse, Saylor and Hall giving strong instrumental support as they do in the all-instrumental, "Run Devil, Run", that was written by Jimmy and also once again has him playing his home-made mandolin. When listening to this instrumental, one can picture the devil running over a hill and down into the valley and on until he is out of sight, yet if you keep looking you can see him still running up a hillside, a way off in the distance, until he again disappears, out of sight. "Stop", another song written by Jimmy, features an excellent recitation by Red that will stir the heart of anyone that has experienced the joy of salvation. "Like His Love", "Sing Your Song, Jimmy", and "Leave Behind", features the entire Williams family with Jimmy's wife, Phyllis on bass and his son, Virgil, doing some outstanding banjo work.

Larry Jessup"