As a legendary Gospel icon, he continues his mission to “Preserve Traditional Gospel Music” (PTGM) with his syndicated radio show, “Down Home Gospel with Melvin Williams” that airs on more than 52 radio stations across the nation. Melvin had the honor to record the last interview with gospel great, Clarence Fountain of the Blind Boys of Alabama before his untimely passing as they planned to record a duet together in support of the PTGM project. As Melvin states, “Traditional Gospel Music is the roots, the rock, the foundation of our Heritage, America’s Heritage” and he captures the essence of this mission with his newly released LIVE Recorded Acoustic CD project titled “Down Home Gospel.” Melvin’s rendition of Mahalia Jackson’s “How I Got Over” solidifies his raw, God-given talent as he accompanies his vocals on his acoustic guitar. The CD also features Melvin’s version of the classic “Go Down Moses,” which was described as “a Santana-esque Spanish guitar and Mavis Staples performance all rolled into one” by Don Allan Mitchell, Chair of Language & Literature at Delta State University, at two recent GRAMMY Museum concerts in Los Angeles and Mississippi. Melvin Williams plays the guitar in vassapoo, that is., playing a right-handed guitar upside down and backwards with his left hand thereby the strings are upside-down chords also known as “Open E.” He is part of an extraordinary group of musicians and artists, for example., Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Al McKay (formerly of Earth Wind & Fire), Jonathan Butler, Billy Ray Cyrus, Cesar Rosas (formerly of Los Lobas), Dick Dale (the King of Surfer Music), Kurt Cobain, Bobby Womack, Seal, Jimi Hendrix, Justin Bieber, and Albert King, Sr, to name a few.
