Christopher John Williams

Christopher "Junior" Williams returned home to the Most High on 5 August 2025. Junior was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to Ernest James Williams and Norma Williams Thompson. At the age of 14, he saw Bob Marley in the casket at a public mourning ceremony and vowed in his heart to continue Bob's message of hope & harmony through music. He attended Kingston's Jamaica College on Hope Road, just down the street from Marley's home. He then moved to Providence, RI, where he graduated from Hope High School. While attending the Rhode Island School of Design, he became inspired by fellow RISD student David Byrne's band The Talking Heads and drew up blueprints for a band that would combine global rhythms with reggae. After performing locally with Maasai and Rude Boy Posse, he moved to Eau Claire, WI, where he started the band Irie Sol with Kevin Zappa. Junior recruited bandmembers from 5 continents. His favorite Irie Sol shows were sharing the stage with George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Wyclef, the Wailers, annual shows with Marley's friend and Junior's hero Ansel Cridland & The Meditations, as well as locally at The Parlour with Natural Element. Junior's music with Irie Sol has been featured on the BBC2, BBC Radio, CBS, Converge Radio, KFAI, KMOJ, Minnesota Public Radio, and WCCO and can be enjoyed on all major streaming platforms. He is preceded in death by his father Ernest James Williams and his sisters Orchid and Shirley Williams. He is survived by his mother Norma Williams; his sisters Janice Montague & Elegethia Burrell; his sons Solomon Williams Skye & Thulani Williams Cronk; his nieces Orchid Williams, Leslie M Montague, Autumn Burrell, his nephews David and Travis Williams and Wayne Montague, Jr., and his Irie Sol Family, including co-leader and best friend, Joel Pace.

Visitation will be Wednesday, August 13, 2025 from 9:00-11:00 am in the Russell J. Boyle and Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith Street, Providence followed by a celebration of life at 11:00 am. Burial will be in North Burial Ground. Repast will follow burial in the Hot Club, 25 Bridge Street, Providence, RI.