Karl “Doc” Williamson was born in Chariton, Iowa and grew up in the Orlando, Florida area. In the mid 1980s he was working in New Orleans clubs when Big Jim Garrison, owner of The After Hours on Bourbon Street gave him the name Doc, explaining that in New Orleans it is an honor if a musician is given that name because it is believed he plays healing music.
Doc took about 1 1/2 years of piano lessons between the ages of six and eight and that concluded his formal training. It is when he first heard Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” on the radio in 1959 that changed his life at age eight. It’s the first record he bought with his own money and he learned the song by ear that same day. He studied records and taught himself how to play by ear, how a song is made, music theory and various piano playing styles. He then developed a piano and singing style uniquely his own. He played in several bands throughout his teen years in the Central Florida area usually playing the pop music of the 1960s however he introduced the Blues, R&B and Soul music to any band he was in.
He has played professionally for over 40 years. Doc has been a session piano player and has toured the US and Japan extensively. One of the biggest musical thrills of his career came when Stevie Wonder came into a club Doc was working in on Bourbon Street and sat in with him. Doc offered the piano to Stevie but Stevie said, “No, you play great. You play and I’ll sing.” And, they did. But, the biggest thrill of all was when Doc finally met his lifelong hero Ray Charles in Seattle, shook his hand, spoke with him briefly and made him laugh.
Doc’s major influence in his playing, singing and writing is Ray Charles. Other influences he credits include Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Leon Russell, Dr. John, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and so many more. Doc wishes he had the skills of the piano greats Art Tatum and Albert Ammons.
Doc makes his home in Central Florida with his Blues hound Beagle, Maggie. He works as a solo, with the duo Doc Williamson & Brother Herb (The Bluesome Twosome) and with the band Doc & The Healers (sometimes featuring The Docettes) and hosts Blues jams around the area.
