R.I.P: Noel “King Sporty” Williams, 1943-2014

Words by Scott Brown

Jamaica and Miami both lost a musical innovator with the passing of Noel “King Sporty” Williams this week, at age 71. Best known internationally for co-writing and co-producing Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier,” Sporty had a diverse and creative music legacy, producing, writing, and performing reggae, soul, funk and proto hip-hop music during a decades-long career which began in Jamaica’s pre-reggae days and took him to Miami, where he was a major figure in the city’s burgeoning Black music scene in the ’70s and ’80s. He leaves behind a wife in famed soul singer Betty Wright and several children, including son Yusef Williams, well-known as the hairstylist for Rihanna. (Rihanna was one of the first people to share the news of Sporty’s passing, tweeting “R.I.P. King Sporty” on Monday night)

Sporty has previously been highlighted here on Large Up for his connections and contributions across a variety of genres. But his foundation in music came from working under the legendary reggae producer and Studio One founder Coxsone Dodd. He voiced and wrote reggae songs for Dodd’s labels and artists, working with musicians including Jackie Mittoo. But he eventually focused on a different sound after settling in Miami and creating record labels of his own.

Around this time, Jamaican expats heavily contributed to the development of music in South Florida and independent labels were laying the foundation for disco, a sound which evolved in part out of Miami. King Sporty was developing his sound in the middle of all the action, producing music on his labels and working with artists such as Timmy Thomas, of TK Records and “Why Can’t We Live Together” fame.

“If you want to look at that whole Miami sound, that really came from King Sporty’s brain,” says Abdul Mushin, a Jamaican-born Miami radio veteran and promoter who was a close friend of Sporty’s for the last 37 years. “The band that played with people like Betty Wright and KC and The Sunshine Band–those are all his personnel. That groove that you heard that had that feeling was Caribbean and R&B mixed together? That was him.”

In the 1970s and 80s, Sporty produced a plethora of music under his own Konduko and Tashamba labels, ranging from from his own reggae tunes to some of the first electro records in a city now known worldwide as a capital of electronic music. In fact, several years before teaming with his friend Bob Marley for “Buffalo Soldier,” Sporty was directly involved in another landmark hit, in Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can’t We Live Together.” Thomas wrote and composed the track, which is widely regarded as the first R&B hit to feature the sound of a drum machine instead of an organic trap kit. Sporty originally released the song on Konduko before it caught the attention of producer Henry Stone and TK Records, and ultimately topped the Billboard R&B charts, reaching #3 on the Hot 100.

In the early 1980s, as electro (and, later, Miami Bass) were taking over in Miami clubs, Sporty and his stable of artists contributed local electro-funk/dance hits like Connie Case’s “Get Down” and his own “Do U Wanna Dance.” Around the same time, Bob Marley was seeing a continued explosion in international popularity thanks to the posthumous greatest hits collection Legend. The album featured “Buffalo Soldier,” a track unreleased during the singer’s lifetime but which would become one of his most iconic songs after first appearing on the 1983 album, Confrontation. However, the commonly known, reggae version of the track from Confrontation and Legend was far different musically from the original version, an uptempo electro-funk number cut during one of Marley’s final recording sessions in 1980 (and which sounds like nothing else in Marley’s catalog).

Sporty’s musical legacy, especially in Miami, is further cemented by his marriage to Wright, the undisputed queen of Miami soul. Though best known for R&B classics like “Clean Up Woman” (and more recently her collaborations with rappers such as Rick Ross and Lil Wayne), Wright participated in numerous reggae recordings over the years, showcasing a fluency in the genre no doubt influenced by her marriage to Williams. Recently, Sporty’s catalog was also revisited by Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, who sampled his “Self Destruct” on Timberlake’s 2013 single, “That Girl.”

Bob Marley, Betty Wright, Coxsone Dodd, Rihanna? Reggae and soul music share many connections, but King Sporty might be one of the most interesting and unique bridges between these worlds.

Click here for a look into King Sporty’s selected discography.

King Sporty, Justin Yap and Roland Alphonso -“El Cid” (1965)

Williams’ earliest known recording is this 1965 ska instrumental with tenor sax man Roland Alphonso of the Skatalites, recorded for producer Justin Yap, during a famed, 18-hour session at Studio One.

King Sporty – “Thinking of You” (1973)

Sporty, who first came to Miami in the 1960s well before the wave of migration that brought many Jamaicans to South Florida in the ’70s, had settled in the city by that decade, launching his own label, Konduko. By that time he’d also expanded his sound beyond just reggae. This R&B love tune has all of the hallmarks of the “Miami sound” associated with Henry Stone’s TK and Alston labels (and artists like Sporty’s own wife, Betty Wright) including an early example of an insistent, disco-style drum beat.

Timmy Thomas – “Why Can’t We Live Together” (1972)

Timmy Thomas wrote, sang and performed “Why Can’t We Live Together” but Sporty deserves some credit for being the first to see the vision in the most unique and unusual of all ’70s soul hits. Notable for a haunting, stripped-down sound that featured only a Hammond organ and an early drum machine, “Why Can’t We Live Together” still resonates with its calls for interracial harmony. Thomas and Sporty continued to work and perform together throughout the decade—here’s a clip of Sporty performing a reggae, soul and jazz-spanning set at Miami’s Gusman Theatre with his Deep Root Band, featuring Thomas on keys.

Click here for more of King Sporty’s selected discography

King Sporty “Self Destruct” (1976)

Another R&B track with that distinct Miami soul flavor, this one was sampled by Timbaland for Justin Timberlake’s “That Girl.”

Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Buffalo Soldier” (1980/1983)

“Buffalo Soldier,” one of the world’s most recognizable songs needs no introduction. Or does it? Fans might be surprised to hear how much the original version of one of Marley’s most iconic tracks, cut in Miami in 1980 with King Sporty, differs from the commonly known version later released om Confrontation and Legend.Check ’em both out below and if you have audio of the original, original version with Sporty on vocals, link us!

King Sporty “Do U Wanna Dance” (1983)

In his first music video, Sporty dances his way through a low-budget clip for his ’83 single “Do U Wanna Dance.” Think dutty wining and twerking are some kind of new invention? Check 2:14 for evidence otherwise!