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Gregory "Boss Man" Williams and Switch - Music
Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
Williams is so personable and entertaining to talk to, one could chat for hours because he feels like an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while. Right On Magazine Publisher and Editor Cynthia Horner christened him as Greg “Boss Man” Williams back in Switch’s heyday. Maybe because he is the founder of the group. That moniker has stuck in my mind over the years and I still refer to him as Boss Man.
During
his struggling years, William’s mom and grandpa consistently said to him what
all young musicians starting out have to hear i.e., “You need to get a job.” So
how did they react when Switch’s first album went platinum? Williams laughs,
“At that point, everybody knew it all the time. They said I knew you were going
to do that. But before that, they didn’t think I was going to do nothing. Now
they were saying I knew you had it in you.” Williams adds, “Any you know what
man, I just let them have it. I just let them go with it. I was happy that they
finally saw what I was trying to show them.”
What
would Williams say to young, up coming musicians who are hearing that “Get a
job crap” today? He says, “ I always tell them and even now I tell them you
believe in yourself. No matter what above and beyond everything else, you
believe in yourself. And then do your best to find somebody to believe in you
like you do except not somebody who does the same thing that you do but
somebody who can be the eyes in the back of your head.”
Another
thing that blew my mind is the fact that Williams points out plain as day that
Jermaine Jackson stutters. That something the Motown publicity machine kept a
wrap on during his heyday as a teen sex symbol.
Williams has honed this craft no only as a seasoned trumpet player but he is an excellent, songwriter, producer and arranger who is adept enough with skills to specifically write for particular vocal ranges.
Williams continues, “And so, in a lot of the situations, the kids get caught up innocently. I say that because I say that in my own defense. My family was not a drug using family. I didn’t come up with that kind of mess. I absolutely hated cocaine, but it was forever in my face during my Switch years. It was forever upon everything I did. I saw stars whom I admired and was in awe of and that’s what they did. The influences are all round and that’s the sad thing. And some are not strong enough to get out of it once they realize that it is damaging them. They’re gone, they can’t get out and that’s the horror of it right there.”
Switch
Founder Greg "Boss Man" Williams Details His Experiences In His Tell-All Book “Switch,
DeBarge, Motown & Me.”
A lot of
interest has been stirred up lately on the subjects of the late Bobby DeBarge
and the superstar R&B/Funk band “Switch.” TV One’s recent airing of the
Bobby DeBarge Story brought out a lot of questions of what was fact or fiction.
Switch founder Greg "Boss Man" Williams has a new, tell-all book titled, “Switch,
DeBarge, Motown & Me” available on Amazon that will give interested readers the 411 direct
from the man who created much of it and lived through it.
 |
| The Original Switch, Motown Records |
Williams
is as for real as it gets. He is totally transparent and open. He pulls no
punches and the details of his narrative are so clear and vivid, it is as if
you are actually there with him as it all unfolds. In reviewing the book, I
couldn’t put it down as Williams takes you on an eye-opening journey from the
time he first met Bobby DeBarge in high school.
They fast became good friends
and when they discovered that both of them had music and performing in common,
it was the start of a journey that included the family drama of the abusive
DeBarge dad to the highs and lows of growing up and coming of age while
shouldering the trials and tribulations of struggling musicians trying to get a
foot hold into the music industry.
 |
| The late Bobby DeBarge R.I.P. |
 |
| Switch founder Gregory "Boss Man" Williams |
Williams is so personable and entertaining to talk to, one could chat for hours because he feels like an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while. Right On Magazine Publisher and Editor Cynthia Horner christened him as Greg “Boss Man” Williams back in Switch’s heyday. Maybe because he is the founder of the group. That moniker has stuck in my mind over the years and I still refer to him as Boss Man.
 |
| Current line up of Switch |
 |
| Jermaine and Hazel Jackson managers of Switch |
Williams has honed this craft no only as a seasoned trumpet player but he is an excellent, songwriter, producer and arranger who is adept enough with skills to specifically write for particular vocal ranges.
In
turning to the dark side of the music industry, why would anyone with good
sense get into drugs, especially when they have hundreds of examples of how
stars who came before them had their careers destroyed and lost their lives?
Williams responds, “The horrible thing about it in most situations, you’re not
looking for it, it’s looking for you in the industry. The dope dealers and the
entertainers so it’s true. They want to be in the spotlight. The way that they
can be seen and be in the spotlight is to hang out with you (the entertainer).
And the way they can hangout with you is to feed you something that you ain’t
got.”
Williams continues, “And so, in a lot of the situations, the kids get caught up innocently. I say that because I say that in my own defense. My family was not a drug using family. I didn’t come up with that kind of mess. I absolutely hated cocaine, but it was forever in my face during my Switch years. It was forever upon everything I did. I saw stars whom I admired and was in awe of and that’s what they did. The influences are all round and that’s the sad thing. And some are not strong enough to get out of it once they realize that it is damaging them. They’re gone, they can’t get out and that’s the horror of it right there.”
Williams did not like TV One's version of The Bobby DeBarge Story because he said it had too many lies and inaccuracies in it. Switch currently has a single out on their own label titled "I Love You More," and are on tour. A second single will be released in the fall.
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2019 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM
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