Lamar Williams (born January 14, 1949, in Gulfport, Mississippi, died January 21, 1983) was an American musician, most known as the bassist for The Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level. January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Gulfport, Mississippi city flag. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sea Level is the name of a group that mixed jazz, blues and rock and existed between 1976 and 1981. ...

Influenced by players from James Jamerson to Stanley Clarke, by the 1960s Williams was playing bass in a soul music band known as Sounds of Soul with Jai Johanny Johanson, the future drummer Jaimoe with the Allman Brothers. In 1968 Williams was drafted into the United States Army and sent into the Vietnam War. Opposed to the war and to killing in general, Williams went AWOL frequently and wandered around the jungles of South Vietnam, occasionally returning to various units. He was given an honorable discharge in 1970. James Jamerson (c. ... Stanley Clarke (born 30 June 1951) is an American musician known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar. ... Soul music is a combination of rhythm and blues and gospel which began in the late 1950s in the United States. ... Jai Johanny Johanson (born John Lee Johnson on July 8, 1944, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi), frequently known by the stage names Jaimoe or Jaimo, is an American drummer and percussionist who is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band. ... The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... AWOL (pronounced a-wall) is an acronym for the United States and other armed forces expression Absent WithOut Leave or Absence Without Official Leave. The United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy use the term Unauthorized Absence (UA) instead. ...

After jamming with a Biloxi group known as the Fungus Blues Band, Williams joined the Allman Brothers in late 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley, and played in the band at the peak of their commercial success. Williams' style was more traditional than Oakley's lead guitar-like approach, and freed the band's drummers to be more adventurous. After the Allmans dissolved in 1976, Williams founded Sea Level with Jaimoe and Chuck Leavell of the Allmans. In Sea Level he played in a looser, more jazz-like fashion. Williams left Sea Level in 1980, shortly before that band broke up. Raymond Berry Oakley III (born April 4, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois, died November 11, 1972 in Macon, Georgia), was an American bassist who was one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band. ... Jai Johanny Johanson (born John Lee Johnson on July 8, 1944, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi), frequently known by the stage names Jaimoe or Jaimo, is an American drummer and percussionist who is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band. ... Chuck Leavell is an American keyboards player, most known for being a member of The Allman Brothers Band, a founding member of Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and later, the supporting keyboardist for The Rolling Stones. ...

Williams married Marian Belina in 1974 and they had two children. Williams was found to have lung cancer in 1981, caused (his doctors believed) by exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam adventures. He died less than two years later. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... Lung cancer is a cancer of the lungs characterized by the presence of malignant tumors. ... U.S. Military planes cropdusting in Vietnam during Operation Ranch Hand Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. ...

External links

• 1980 Guitar Player interview by Jim Schwartz
• LAMAR WILLIAMS - OUT OF THE SHADOWS by John Lynskey