Portrait of James Williamson (musician)

Birthday profile

James Williamson (musician)

James Williamson, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Born
October 29, 1949
Age in 2026
77
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1949

About James Williamson (musician)

James Robert Williamson is an American guitarist, songwriter, record producer and electronics engineer. He was a member of the proto-punk rock band the Stooges, notably on the album Raw Power and in the reformed Stooges from 2009 to 2016. Between his stints in music, Williamson worked in Silicon Valley developing computer chips. Most recently he has continued as a solo artist. Despite this connection, the two were barely acquainted at the time, with Asheton recalling that "the first time I played with them, that was the last time James played with them. I remember moving to Detroit—it was the summer when Martha and the Vandellas' "Heatwave" was a smash hit record. When Williamson was in the ninth grade in Detroit, he formed his first rock band, The Chosen Few, with schoolmate and future SRC vocalist Scott Richardson.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when James Williamson (musician) was born

James Williamson (musician) was born in 1949. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1949

  • #1 song"Riders in the Sky" – Vaughn Monroe
  • Top movieAll the King's Men
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater
  • Best-selling bookThe Egyptian - Mika Waltari

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis retires from boxing as undefeated heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineNATO established
  • Technology milestoneFirst stored-program computer runs its first program
  • Defining fadSilly Putty
  • Notable inventionSilly Putty
  • World population2.52 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (BAA)
  • U.S. population149.2M

1949 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in James Williamson (musician)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19492026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$8,400$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.46$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population149.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.