Governor, Central Bank Marion Williams of Barbados

In awarding her a grant in 1993, the MacArthur Foundation stated "Marion Williams is among the last surviving links to gospels golden age.

As was common in the area, Williams was exposed to African American blues and jazz, alongside Caribbean calypso.

Williams was invited to join the Ward Singers when they heard her singing during a visit to a close friend in Philadelphia in 1946.

what did the Lord say? That Marion Williams had arrived.

to let her passion for singing get physical.

to be the best gospel singer in Miami.

to sing in a northern urban church.

Marion Williams was the magnet, the star, the centerpiece.

and Williams had a hard time keeping up.

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Williams is among the last surviving links to gospel's golden age.

By the time diabetes instigated various ailments that ended her life, Williams had garnered the world's most estimable awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors and the MacArthur Genius Grant.

The New York Times stated that Williams was "widely regarded as the greatest gospel singer" and "the equal of any blues singer alive.

But it wasn't until she journeyed north to visit a relocated sister in Philadelphia that Williams met her future in the person of Gertrude Ward.

Williams said she sung so hard in those days that her head hurt.

Williams remained humble but fiery until the end.

the end of her life, Marion Williams received much critical praise.

Williams was born in a Miami ghetto, the daughter of a West Indian butcher and a South Carolina laundry woman.

While at a Clara Ward and the Ward Singers program, Williams was called up to sing.

It did not help that Williams was not putting the energy into singing she did with the Wards.

One of the most distinctive voices in gospel, Marion Williams built a legendary career out of her childhood influences of blues, jazz, and calypso as well as her unwavering faith i.