Second tenor born in Petersburg, Virginia, who lived in Hopewell, Virginia,, who graduated from Peabody High School and went on to serve in the US Air Force for 3 years.
After leaving service he sang with various groups and later became a member of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes from 1977 to 1997. He came along in time to appear on a couple of recordings, The Blue Album and Talk it Up (Tell Everybody), which went to #66 on the U.K. album chart and #81 on the R&B chart in the U.S.
After Harold’s death, there were a couple of off-shoot groups that continued to perform. As of the late ‘90s, William, along with Dwight Johnson, was still performing with the version endorsed by Harold’s widow, and they simply billed themselves as The Blue Notes.
He passed away in Petersburg, Virginia in October 2002 when he was 58 years old.
Sources:
- http://www.billyprice.com/Melvin_and_Bluenotes.php
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Melvin_and_the_Blue_Notes
- http://oldies.about.com/od/70spopandsoul/p/haroldmelvinbluenotes.htm
- http://www.phillysoulclassics.com/artists/harold-melvin-the-blue-notes
- http://www.discomusic.com/forums/showthread.php/25659-Bluenotes-Vs-Bluenotes!?p=127318
- http://gone4sure.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/nick-martinelli-%CE%B7-%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%B8%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%BA%CE%AC%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-philadelphia/