Noel Williams

Noel Williams (born September 19, 1943, Portland, Jamaica – died January 5, 2015, Miami, Florida, USA) also known as King Sporty, was a Jamaican DJ, reggae musician and record producer. In his early days Noel Williams rose to become a studio sideman under Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's tutelage at Studio One. In 1965 he released the track 'El Cid', credited to King Sporty and Justin Yap. In 1977 he released an album 'Mr. Rhythm' as King Sporty on his own Konduko label. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the Bob Marley & The Wailers song 'Buffalo Soldier'. He later moved from Jamaica to Miami and began producing and releasing music there on his Konduko and Tashamba labels. He evolved from Reggae to Funk to Disco to Electro to Miami Bass between the 1970's and 1980's. Noel found lasting hits in the Electro Funk canon with Connie Case's 'Get On Down' and 'Haven't Been Funked Enough', under his The Ex Tras moniker when he made licensing deals with Tommy Boy Records in 1982. Noel was married to R&B singer Betty Wright. Together they recorded many Electro records in the 1980's under names such as Fashion Funktion and Noel Williams & The Extra Funk Factory. In 1986, he was one of the first producers to morph his sound into Miami Bass, most notably producing Smoove Matty Matt's 'Rappin Wrestling' and Youth MC's 'Funky Fresh Beat'.