Rockapaedia Obituaries
Don Williams.
Don Williams died aged seventy-eight
in Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A. due to emphysema on 8th September 2017.
Don Williams was born the youngest of three sons on May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas, U.S.A. His parents were Loveta Mae and James Andrew Williams . He grew up in Portland, Texas and graduated from Gregory-Portland High School in 1958. After Don's parents divorced, Loveta Williams remarried first to Chester Lang, and then to Robert Bevers.
Prior to forming the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers, Don Williams served with The United States Army Security Agency for two years then, after his honorable discharge, worked various odd jobs in order to support himself and his family.
It was with the group the Pozo-Seco Singers that Don Williams, alongside Susan Taylor and Lofton Cline, recorded several records for Columbia Records.. He remained with the group until 1969 and it disbanded the following year.
After the Pozo-Seco Singers disbanded, Don Williams briefly worked outside the music industry. Soon, however, Don Williams resumed his career in music. In December 1971, Don Williams signed on as a songwriter for Jack Clement with Jack Music Inc. In 1972, Don Williams inked a contract with JMI Records as a solo country artist. His 1974 song, "We Should Be Together," reached number five, and he signed with ABC/Dot Records. At the height of the country and western boom in the UK in 1976, he had top forty pop chart hits with "You're My Best Friend" and "I Recall a Gypsy Woman".
His first single with ABC/Dot, "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me," became a number one hit, and was the first of a string of top ten hits he had between 1974 and 1991.
"I Believe in You", written by Roger Cook and Sam Hogin, was Williams' eleventh #1 on the country chart.[12] It was his only Top 40 chart entry in the U.S., where it peaked at #24. It was also hit in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.[13]
Williams had some minor roles in Burt Reynolds movies. In 1975, Don appeared as a member of the Dixie Dancekings band in the movie W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings alongside Reynolds. Don also appeared as himself in the Universal Pictures movie, Smokey and the Bandit II, in which he also played a number of songs.
Early in 2006, Williams announced his "Farewell Tour of the World" and played numerous dates both in the U.S. and abroad, wrapping the tour up with a sold-out "Final Farewell Concert" in Memphis, Tennessee at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts on November 21, 2006. In 2010, Williams came out of retirement and was once again touring.
In March 2012, Williams announced the release of a new record And So It Goes (UK release April 30, 2012; U.S./Worldwide release June 19, 2012), his first new record since 2004. The record is his first with the independent Americana label Sugar Hill Records. The record includes guest appearances by Alison Krauss, Keith Urban, and Vince Gill. To accompany his late
st album release he embarked on a UK Tour. A much loved country artist among British fans, he had his final UK tour in 2014.
In March 2016, Williams announced he was retiring from touring and cancelled all his scheduled shows. "It's time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home. I'm so thankful for my fans, my friends and my family for their everlasting love and support," he said in a statement.