My tribute to a friend, Archie Williams Jr.

MARIN COUNTY HAS LOST ONE OF IT’S FINEST. The first time Archie Williams Jr. caught my attention was when I was in the 8th grade at White Hill School in Fairfax. He was this really cool dude in the 7th grade that used to walk around campus scatting, (I mean, who scats in the 7th Grade?) and playing the air guitar. But the really cool thing was, he didn’t seem to mind what anybody thought. I remember walking up to him and saying, can you play a real guitar? He laughed and said, just a little. We struck up a friendship immediately. At the time I played traps, so we began to jam after school at my parents house with good friends Joey Reyes, who plays bass and Trigve Trigisted on guitar. Archie had VERY BIG shoes to fill, his father was a living legend! Archie Williams Sr. was not only the most popular teacher at Drake High School, but he was also a World War Two Hero and helped train aviators, some of whom became Tuskegee Airman! And if that wasn’t enough, he was a Gold Medal winner in the Olympics! And not just any Olympics! The 1936 games in Germany! The Jesse Owens games, with Hitler himself in attendance! Archie Jr. went on to fill his father’s shoes quite nicely. He went on to have a very distinguished career, playing with many bands. The Marin All Stars, The Monday night live band with Huey Lewis and Maria Muldaur, just to name a few. And in my opinion might have become Huey Lewis and the News lead guitar player, but the band went with Chris Hayes. Archie wasn’t blessed with his father’s athletic ability; I often chided him about that while playing pickup basketball games at our beloved Fairfax Pavilion. But he did follow in his father’s footsteps as a teacher, only not in math but in music. And he married his childhood sweetheart, Tracy. And personally, when my wedding day arrived, there was only one person I wanted to play our wedding march, Archie Williams Jr: Life can be harsh and is filled with so much uncertainty. But there is one thing that I am sure of, you will never hear an unkind word mentioned about Archie Williams Jr: Because he was not just a great guitar player, he was an even greater human being. My heart goes out to Tracy and the family. My tribute to a friend, Archie Williams Jr; Music by George Benson, Dan Hayes and friends, Maria Muldaur, The Monday Night Live Band. And Archie Williams Jr; This video is a non-profit informative and commemorative labor of love. Video meets all fair use guidelines.