Jerry Williams is the stage name of Sven Erik Fernström, a Swedish rock and roll singer and actor from Solna municipality, Sweden. Born in 1942 and dying in 2018, he becomes known for fronting The Violents before building a solo career.

The Violents

Williams joins The Violents in 1962 and becomes the band’s lead singer and frontman. The group forms in 1959 and is influenced by The Shadows. It has a series of line-up changes, and folds in 1966. With Williams, The Violents release a version of “Darling Nelly Grey” in 1962, which becomes a major hit in Sweden.

The Violents open for Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg in 1962 alongside The Beatles, and they are also the opening act when The Beatles tour Sweden in 1963.

Solo career and recordings

In the 1960s, Williams records “The Wonder Of Your Love” with English producer Joe Meek. The track is not released and is later found among Meek’s tapes after his death. By the end of the 1960s, Williams’s style has a soul influence, and “Keep On” becomes a Swedish hit in 1969.

He returns to rock and roll-based music in the early 1970s and performs with Roadwork until the early 1980s. During the 1970s, he also tours with The Telstars.

Acting and stage work

Williams makes his acting debut in the film G – som i gemenskap in 1983 and also appears in the musical Cats. He later develops a stage show presence with productions including Live på Börsen at Hamburger Börs in Stockholm, Live 'n Jive at Hamburger Börs in 1999, Jerka at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg and Göta Lejon in Stockholm in 2002, Ringside at Scalateatern in 2005, and Lorensbergsteatern in Gothenburg in 2006.

Recognition and later work

In 1985, Williams receives a cultural award from the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, and in 1991 he is pictured on a Swedish stamp. He is part of the choir for Tommy Nilsson’s Sweden entry “En dag” at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1989.

His song “Did I Tell You” becomes his biggest hit in 1989, and the album JW helps introduce him to a new generation. A music video is also made for the song.

Williams appears on Allsång på Skansen several times and hosts Sommar i P1 on Sveriges Radio on 5 August 2009. In 2009 and 2010, he performs the show Dynamite at Rondo in Gothenburg and Tyrol in Stockholm. An art project featuring his work is shown at Göteborgs Konsthall in 2010.

Farewell tour and collaborations

He premieres his farewell tour, Jerry – The Farewell Show, at Cirkus in Stockholm in 2013, and the pan-Sweden tour sells over 100,000 tickets. In the same year, he works with opera singer Malena Ernman on her album I decembertid, singing “Counting Miracles” as a duet with her. The song charts on Svensktoppen and reaches number one on 6 April 2014.

Voice, beliefs and personal life

Williams is known for a distinctive speech pattern based on old Stockholm dialects and slang, mixed with expressions associated with touring musicians and with words and metaphors he invents himself. At times, Swedish television subtitles his appearances in Standard Swedish.

He is a lifelong communist, supports AIK, and keeps a private life centred on family, dogs and training. He is married from 1977 and has two daughters from that marriage, as well as a son from before he marries. He lives in Täby at the time of his death and dies there of cancer in 2018.