James Williamson, born on 29 October 29, 1949, is an American guitarist, record producer and songwriter who is best known for his contribution to the Protopunk rock band and ‘The Stooges’. One of the music world’s most celebrated artists, Williamson has been active in the music world since 1966. Apart from being a well know guitarist and vocalist, he is also an electronics engineer.
The music world’s quintessential artist and an engineer, how rich is James Williamson in 2015? Well, as per a number of credible sources and websites, James Williamson’s net worth is estimated to be $10 million, with his musical career clearly the major source of income. Apart from that, he also worked for Advanced Micro Devices and the Sony Company as an engineer which further helped Williamson add his riches.
James Williamson Net Worth $10 Million
Born in Castroville, Texas USA, Williamson was raised by his mother and a very strict military stepfather. At a very early age, he took up the guitar after being hugely inspired by ‘The Ventures’ and eventually formed his first rock n roll band, “The Chosen Few” while he was in the 9th grade. Sadly, the band broke up shortly thereafter.
In 1971, Williamson joined another band named “The Stooges” while they were struggling with line-up changes and lack of success. Williamson went on to co-write many songs and even played all the guitar parts for The Stooges 1973 album which gained him fame and success. Many people considered him one of Punk’s pioneers for his creative song writing and jagged high-energy approach. However, despite Williamson’s considerable talent and enthusiasm, the band could not overcome their difficulties as many of the band members sank into hard-core drug abuse, resulting in the final demise of the band in 1974. Regardless, this was the start of his net worth growing.
In 1979, to gear up his musical career, Williamson was persuaded to work with Iggy Pop to produce and write for Iggy’s solo album ‘New Values’. He also worked on Iggy’s subsequent album ‘Soldier’, before falling out over recording methods and losing contact with him. Williamson’s musical journey with Iggy Pop came to an end in 1980.
After various ups and downs in his musical career, Williamson turned his back on music- going to school to become and electronics engineer. Following his graduation, he went to Silicon Valley where he worked as an engineer for the next 16 years. In 1997, he was hired as Sony’s vice president of technical standards and in 2015, he was awarded with Ronald H. Brown Standard Leadership Award for his contribution to consumer electronic standards development.
After being out of the music industry for decades, James Williamson finally reunited with Iggy, and reformed ‘The Stooges’ in 2010 going on to give stage performances together.
Talking about his personal life, Williamson is married to Amanda Williamson and has a daughter named Amanda J. Williamson. Currently, he lives in Texas, United States. So, with a net worth of $ 10 Million, James Williamson is one of the more successful and richer musicians prominent in the industry.
