By Rick Kelly
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, Texas, 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 Don's songs at those sessions, and those recordings became the basis for the first record on JMI."
Williams' 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), 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' version topped the Country Music charts. In 1978, Williams won the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Award.
Williams' 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."
