ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Don Williams

(born May 27, 1939)

Career Track

Barn Dance Affiliate: N/A

Stage Name: Gentle Giant 

• No. 1 Singles: 17
• Top-10 Singles: 45
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 56
• Years Active: 1972 - 1992

Awards

Country Music Association

• Country Music Hall of Fame (2010)
• Male Vocalist of the Year (1978)

Billboard Top-10 Singles

• We Should Be Together -1974
• I Wouldn't Want To Live...*
• The Ties That Bind
• You're My Best Friend* -1975
• (Turn Out The Light And) Love Me Tonight*
• Till the Rivers All Run Dry* 1976
• Say It Again*
• She Never Knew Me
• Some Broken Hearts Never Mend* -1977
•  I'm Just A Country Boy*
• I've Got a Winner in You -1978
• Rake and Ramblin Man
• Tulsa Time*
• Lay Down Beside Me -1979
• It Must Be Love*
• Love Me All Over Again*
• Good Ole Boys Like Me -1980
• I Believe in You*1
• Falling Again -1981
• Miracles
• If I Needed You, 2
• Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good*
• Listyen to the Radio -1982
• Mistakes
• If Hollywood Don't Need You*
• Love Is On A Roll* -1983
• Nobody But You
• Stay Young*
• That's The Thing About Love* -1984
• Walkin'a Broken Heart -1985
• We've Got a Good Fire Goin'-1986
• Heartbeat in the Darkness*
• Then It's Love
• Senorita -1987
• I'll Never Be in Love Again
• I Wouldn't Be a Masn
• Another Place, Another Time -1988
• Desperately
• Old Coyote Town -1989
• One Good Well
• I've Been Loved By the Best
• Just As Long AS I Have You -1990
• Back in My Younger Days
• True Love -1991
• Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy

*No. 1 Single

1Biggest Single

2With Emmylou Harris

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I Believe In You: The Don Williams Story

With his laid-back, straightforward vocals and large, imposing build, Don Williams came to be known as the Gentle Giant. That nickname was bestowed on him in the early '70s, when he began a string of upper level country chart hits that ran into the early '90s.

Don Williams amassed a huge following in the USA and Europe where his ballads were immensely popular. In the course of his recording career (1974 ~ 1990), he garnered 17 No. 1hits from a cache of 50 charted singles. Only five of his songs failed make it into the Top 10.

Don Williams was born May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas. He spent much of his childhood in Corpus Christi, Texas. His father was a mechanic whose job took him to other regions, his mother played guitar and he grew up listening to country music. Don Williams formed his first band with Lofton Kline, called The Strangers Two. In 1964, he was approached by Susan Taylor to form a trio which ultimately became the Pozo-Seco Singers, a folk-pop group.

The band recorded a song called “Time” and it became a regional hit. Columbia Records, picked up the record, signed the group and released a few singles taken from three albums. For the next two years, they had a series of minor hits, highlighted by I Can Make It with You and Look What You've Done (1966). The group disbanded in 1971, at which point Williams embarked on a solo career.

Williams moved to Nashville in the early 1970s, signing as a songwriter contract with Jack Music, Inc (Jack Clement). He and JMI producer Allen Reynolds collaborated for a JMI Records release. In 1972, he signed with JMI as a solo artist, releasing Don't You Believe as his debut. The song went nowhere, but The Shelter of Your Eyes climbed to No. 14 (1973).

For the next year, Williams scored a string of minor hits before he had his 1974 breakthrough, We Should Be Together, which reached No. 5. The single led to a contract with the upscale ABC/Dot label. I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me, rose to No. 1 in 1974.

Throughout the 1970s, his You’re My Best Friend (No. 1, 1975), Love Me Tonight (No. 1, 1975),  'Till The Rivers All Run Dry (No. 1, 1976), Say It Again (No. 1, 1976), Some Broken Hearts Never Mend (No. 1, 1977, writer Waylon Holyfield) I’m Just A Country Boy (No. 1, 1977) Tulsa Time (No. 1, 1978), It Must be Love (No. 1, 1979) and Love Me Over Again (No. 1, 1979) were chart-topping hits.

Williams extended his successful chart run with “Lord, I Hope This Day is Good” (No. 1, 1981), If Hollywood Don’t Need You (No. 1, 1982, writer Bob McDill),  Love is On a Roll (No. 1, 1983) and “That’s the Thing About Love” (No. 1, 1984).

Williams wrote some of his own songs, including “Love Me Over Again” and Atta Way To Go, but many of his most memorable recordings were penned by fellow Texan and veteran Nashville songwriter Bob McDill.

During the '70s, Don Williams became one of the most popular artists in country music. His material not only crossed over into the American pop arena, it also gained him a large following in Europe.

In addition to his successful chart run, Don Williams won several country music awards, highlighted by the Country Music Association (CMA) naming him Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978. That was the same year his No. 1 single Tulsa Time was named Single of the Year by CMA. By 1985 as his chart activity began to wane, MCA, which had absorbed ABC/Dot dropped him from their roster.

Moving to Capitol Records in 1986, Williams released such singles as “We’ve Got a Good Fire Going” (No. 3, 1986) and his final No. 1 single, "Heartbeat in the Darkness" (1986), but the change in labels didn't sustain his upper chart activity. He took a sabbatical in 1988 and then signed with RCA Records in 1989.

That year One Good Well capped at No. No. 4 and after a few more moderate singles, Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy (No. 7, 1991) ended his long running chart dominance. From there Williams joined Giant Records, but the label soon closed its country music division.

Although Don Williams continued to perform in the '90s, he had effectively retired to his Nashville farm.  Early in 2006, Mr. Williams announced his “Farewell Tour of the World” and played numerous dates both in the U.S. and abroad, wrapping the tour up with the “Final Farewell Concert” in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Playing to a full house, the final event was well received and quite emotional for fans in attendance.

In 2010, Don Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell. Roots of Country Music. Oct., 15, 2010.