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Franklin Delano Williams was born Jun 27, 1947 in Smithdale, Mississippi He died Mar 22, 1993 in Savannah, Georgia

Frank Williams became one of gospel music's most distinguished artist, working extensively with Malaco Records. Frank loved gospel music at a very young age. As a child and during his early teens he joined the Southern Gospel Singers and later, The Williams Brothers. He teamed up with his brother Huey Williams in 1964, as part of the Jackson Southernaires. After their debut release, Too Late, they signed with ABC/Dunhill in 1972 and where they recorded Look Around and Save My Child projects. Afterwards, the Southernaires signed to Malaco Records. With Malaco they recorded Legendary Gentlemen (1979), Touch of Class (1981), Down Home (1982), they were noted as one of the Malaco’s most significant artists. They won several awards during the 1980s. In 1979, while with the Jackson Southernaires, Frank became the executive producer and director of gospel promotions at Malaco, he held that position for many years. After many years of success with The Jackson Southernaires, Frank had a dream.

He wanted to put together a choir that would show the world all Mississippi had to offer. After struggling with the idea of forming a mass choir for quite a while, he decided to form The Mississippi Mass Choir. He got Malaco record company's support. Then he began calling in personnel, well-known Mississippi talents like David R. Curry, who became Mississippi Mass Choir’s music director. After laying the groundwork, he opened auditions which resulted in in the region of a hundred of the greatest singers in Mississippi, a state famed for its depth of musical talent. After many months of rehearsals, they recorded their first album and video on October 29, 1988, “The Mississippi Mass Choir, Live” under the leadership, and production expertise of their founder Frank Delano Williams. Five weeks after this album was released, Billboard magazine licensed it as the Number 1 Spiritual album in America and it stayed on the Billboard charts for an uninterrupted 45 weeks, setting a new record for gospel recordings. At the 9th annual James Cleveland GMWA Awards, the Mississippi Mass won the Choir of the Year-Contemporary, and Best New Artist of the Year-Traditional. They also took home 4 Stellar Awards in 1989. Frank continued working in the gospel music industry until his death in 1993.

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