Researching Terry Williams

Williams grew up in Hollywood, California. His father played trombone for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and his mother, Bonnie Lou Williams, was a vocalist in Dorsey's band. While working for the promotion department at Warner Bros. Records, he found he could not play guitar at work, so he joined the New Christy Minstrels. There he met the other members of what would become The First Edition.

Williams taught Rogers to play electric bass, as Rogers had only played upright bass before. He co-wrote songs with Rogers such as "Momma's Waiting," and produced many of their songs.

After the group released its concept album The Ballad of Calico and embarked on a tour of New Zealand, Williams was the last original member to leave the band, leading to its breakup. After the breakup of the band, Williams continued the act as "Terry Williams and The First Edition." He continued to work with Rogers, managing his recording studio.

Williams was born in Swansea. During the 1960s, he played in a number of Welsh bands, including Commancheros, The Smokeless Zone, Dream and Plum Crazy, before joining Dave Edmunds' band Love Sculpture. In 1970 he joined the Welsh rock group Man, which included two former Dream and Smokeless Zone members, Deke Leonard and Martin Ace. With Man, he originally appeared on seven Studio albums, three Live albums and two Various artists, live albums, and has subsequently appeared on a number of retrospective releases. When Man split in 1976, Williams rejoined Edmunds in the band Rockpile with Nick Lowe and Billy Bremner, and continued working with Leonard.

Between 1981 and 1982, Williams was part of the Neverland Express band, backing Meat Loaf. In November 1982 Williams joined Dire Straits as the replacement for drummer Pick Withers, shortly after the release of their fourth studio album Love Over Gold. Williams played with them for the first time on the 1983 EP titled ExtendedancEPlay (featuring the hit single "Twisting by the Pool") and on the 1982–1983 Love over Gold Tour. The band's double live album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live was a recording of excerpts from the final two concerts from that tour at London's Hammersmith Odeon in July 1983, featuring Williams, and was released in March 1984. In 1983 Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler wrote and produced the music score for the film Local Hero, which also featured Williams.

Williams remained with Dire Straits for the recording of their fifth studio album, 1985's Brothers in Arms, however according to a Sound on Sound magazine interview his drumming performance was considered to be unsuitable for the desired sound of the album during the first month of the recording sessions, and he was temporarily replaced by jazz session drummer Omar Hakim, who re-recorded the album's drum parts during a two-day stay and then left. Both Hakim and Williams are credited on the album, although Williams' only contribution on the finished album was the improvised crescendo at the beginning of "Money for Nothing". Williams would be back in the band for the music videos and the 1985–1986 Brothers in Arms world tour that followed.

After a hiatus of almost two years, Dire Straits regrouped with Eric Clapton to perform at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act. This was one of the final concerts in which Terry Williams played with Dire Straits. In September 1988 Mark Knopfler announced the official disbanding of Dire Straits and Williams then left the band. The compilation album Money for Nothing was released in October 1988 and featured selections from Williams’ 1982-88 tenure with the band. Dire Straits regrouped in 1990 and again in 1991 without Williams as drummer.

Also in 1988, Williams played drums on albums by Graham Parker and Nick Lowe.

In 1996, Williams briefly rejoined Man, after John Weathers left, but he departed the following year. He also played in concerts such as the 50th birthday tribute to John Lennon and the 60th birthday of Chuck Berry.

Williams ran a blues club in Swansea from 2000 until 2007.

Williams was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2nd round (37th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft, where he played for two years until a knee injury ended his playing career. He was released by the Jets in April 1991. His All-America talent on the track earned him a scholarship to play football at Bethune-Cookman College in 1984, where he played under then head coach Larry Little.

Williams currently resides in Daytona Beach, where he has served as the defensive backs coach at Bethune–Cookman University since 1999.