Nov. 2, 2004—In a career that spans four decades, Don Williams continues to win fans worldwide with his direct songs and burnished baritone. His mellow demeanor and warm, life-affirming songs have turned this "Gentle Giant" into an artist whose appeal transcends age, genre and geography.
Born in 1939 in the tiny town of Floydada, Tex., Williams learned to play guitar as a child from his mother. He continued to play throughout high school, joining a series of bands that played country, rockabilly, folk and rock 'n' roll.
In 1964, Williams joined Lofton Cline to form the The Strangers Two duo. They added vocalist Susan Taylor, creating the folk-pop Pozo-Seco Singers. The group signed with Columbia Records in 1965 and released a string of hits, including "Time," "I Can Make it With You" and "Look What You've Done." The group disbanded in 1971, and Williams set his sights on Nashville and a songwriting career.
Williams signed with Cowboy Jack Clement's publishing company, Jack Music Inc., and then as a recording artist to Clement's independent JMI Records label. Soon after, Williams met Garth Fundis, a young recording engineer, and they began a musical relationship that lasted two decades.
"Jack Clement used to have a session every Thursday at his studio," Fundis remembered. "He'd have a bunch of musicians there, and they'd work on whatever it was that Jack was trying to get done. Often it was demos of songs for Jack Music Inc. We ended up working on a lot of Williams's songs at those sessions, and those recordings became the basis for the first record on JMI."
Williams's JMI recordings yielded a string of minor hits culminating in the 1974 Top 5 single, "We Should Be Together." That led to Williams signing with Dot Records the same year, and an extraordinary run of chart success that lasted into the '90s. He scored 42 Top 10 singles, including "You're My Best Friend," "'Till the Rivers all Run Dry" and "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend."
By the mid-1970s, Williams had fully defined himself as an artist, and his laid back style was as easily identifiable as his trademark cowboy hat. His appeal, however, was not limited to traditional country music listeners. In 1978, rock icon Eric Clapton (a fan of Williams's), was scheduled to play a concert in Nashville. He invited the country star to open the show for him.
"Eric contacted me and asked me to open his show in Nashville, which I agreed to do," Williams said. "Before the show, we got together and I played him 'Tulsa Time,' which Danny Flowers had just written. He loved it and we ended up recording the song."
"Tulsa Time" was a major hit for Clapton on the pop charts and Williams's version topped the country music charts. In 1978, Williams won the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award.
Williams's success continued in the '80s with signature hits "I Believe in You," "Love is on a Roll" and "Lord I Hope This Day is Good." In 1981, he won his second CMA Award for his MCA Nashville album, I Believe in You. After a brief stint with Capitol Records Nashville, Williams signed with RCA Records in 1989 and released three albums and several hit singles, including "Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy," "True Love" and "It's Who You Love."
While Williams no longer keeps up the grueling pace of touring and recording that he once maintained, he remains a busy and vital artist. Earlier this year he released a new album, My Heart to You, although he was initially reluctant to return to the studio.
"I was really comfortable with not making any more records, but my manager, Robert Pratt, was very encouraging," Williams said. "After much deliberation and Robert being on me constantly about it for several years, I decided to do it. The record really came together very quickly, and it was a lot of fun to make."
Williams wrote six of the 11 songs on the album, and said he enjoys the entire creative process.
"Writing songs stretches you creatively and forces you to push yourself as hard as you can, but it's essentially a solitary effort," Williams said. "When you are in the studio it broadens considerably. You have a vision of what you're hoping to accomplish, but you're depending on other people to help that vision come together. When you're on the road, it is a recreation of the studio performance, but with so many variables to deal with. Acoustics change, sound systems change, but the thing that helps you rise to the occasion each night is the presence of the fans."
The new album includes a cover of Clapton's signature hit "Wonderful Tonight."
"At the same time I played 'Tulsa Time' for Eric, he played me 'Wonderful Tonight' which he had not recorded yet," Williams said. "I don't know why it took me as many years to record that song as it did, because I've always loved the song."
In addition to the new album, 2004 saw the release of Williams' first concert film. The DVD—Into Africa—chronicles a 1997 concert in Zimbabwe, featuring 16 greatest hits. Williams enjoys a large and loyal fan base in Africa, and the DVD contains footage of enthusiastic fans responding to his first visit to their country.
Williams also toured Australia and the United Kingdom earlier this year.
"British fans have been so wonderful to me through the years," Williams said. "They're a bit more reserved [than American fans]. During a song you hear absolutely nothing, but they really give it to you after the song is over. In America crowds tend to be a little bit more rowdy."
Williams has managed to maintain a successful and fulfilling career through decades of changes in musical trends and popular taste.
"Behind that quiet exterior is a very deep thinker," Fundis said. "He's an artist who knows himself and knows his audience. He knows what songs fit him best. Don Williams is a man of few words, but when he speaks, it pays to listen, because he's usually right on the mark."
On the Web: www.donwilliams.com
©2004 CMA Close Up News Service
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