FAREWELL
TO COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND DON WILLIAMS
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (margaretta.gacheru@gmail.com
The recent
passing on of one of the world’s most popular country music stars, the
award-winning singer-song writer, Don Williams, dealt a heavy blow to the hearts
of many Kenyan country music lovers.
Williams
died at age 78 last Friday, September 8th, at his home in Mobile,
Alabama. The cause of his passing was emphysema, a lung condition most commonly
caused from cigarette smoking.
Fondly
nicknamed ‘the gentle giant’ for his towering height (he was over six feet
tall), low-key profile and mellow baritone voice, Williams first came to
Kenyans’ attention back in the 1970s.
He actually
launched his solo music career in Nashville in 1971; but his first number one
hit single came out in 1974 when he recorded ‘I wouldn’t want to live if you
didn’t love me.’
Acclaimed
for his soulful country ballads, he shot to fame for songs like “I believe in
you’ and ‘You’re my best friend.’ Both were hits that topped Billboard Country Music
Charts as did Kenyan favorites like ‘Amanda’, ‘It must be love’ and ‘Till the
rivers all run dry’ which was later recorded by Pete Townsend of the British
band, The Who.
In all,
between 1974 and 1991, no less than 45 out of the 52 of Williams’ Top 40
singles landed in the Top Ten. And out
of those, 17 of his singles shot to Number One. Among them were songs like
‘Senorita’, ‘If I needed you’ (which he sang as a duet with Emmylou Harris in
1981) and ‘We’re more than friends’ which won more fans when another British
guitarist Eric Clapton performed it live.
Williams had
an even wider following outside of the US. The British in particular were so
fond of his music that they welcomed him enthusiastically in 1976 when he
performed at both the Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Readers of the London-based magazine ‘Country
Music International’ even voted him ‘Artist of the Decade.’
In 1978, he
also won the Country Music Association Award for Male Vocalist of the Year. The
same year, his upbeat hit, ‘Tulsa Time’ also won the CMA award for ‘Hit Single’.
(The single shot to the top of the charts in 2007 when it was re-recorded by
Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton.)
But
Williams’ sweet country music didn’t only touch the hearts and minds of
Europeans. He had a huge fan-base in India and Latin America. And among
Africans, it wasn’t only Kenyans who loved listening to Williams sing songs
like ‘Lord, I hope the day is good’, ‘Gypsy Woman’ and ‘I’m just a country boy.’
He was so
popular in Southern Africa that he became the only American country singer to
tour Africa although he never made it to Kenya. His live performance in Harare,
Zimbabwe was recorded and released as a DVD in 1997. It’s available on Amazon
entitled ‘Don Williams: Into Africa’. But a new copy costs USD288.90 and a used
one will cost you USD44.15.
Born in the
rural town of Floydada, Texas on May 27, 1939, Williams’ father was a mechanic
who moved his family all over Texas before they finally settled in Portland
near the Gulf Coast. That’s where Williams graduated from high school in 1958.
He went on to enlist in the US Army where he served for several years. His
music career took off soon after that.
Williams
started singing at home from age three. His mother is the one who taught him to
play guitar. He began performing with local country, rock and folk bands
throughout his high school years.
After the
military, he came home and cofounded the folk-rock trio, Pozo-Seco Singers in
1964. With them he recorded his first albums on Columbia Records. The trio
split up in 1969 and for a brief period, Williams did odd jobs until he hit the
road for Nashville, the capitol of country music.
By 1971, he
signed a contract with Jack Music. By the time he retired in 2016, Williams had
made nearly 40 albums and recorded with Capital Records, MCA, RCA and several
others.
He was
finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. But Williams had
always been cautious about stardom and fame. He said it could be both a
blessing and a curse. Thus, he didn’t go on tour as often as many musicians
popular during his heyday in the 1970s and ‘80s. Nor did he give many media
interviews. He frankly preferred keeping a low profile and staying with his
family on his farm just outside of Nashville.
Renowned for
his gentle, understated style and genial Southern drawl, Williams was given the
nickname ‘gentle giant’ by the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum, Kyle Young. It was also Young who said that future generations of
country music singers would need the same ‘grace, intelligence and ageless
intent’ as Williams if they hoped “to stand on the shoulders of this gentle
giant.”
In one
extensive interview that he gave to a British journalist in 1996, Williams said
he had grown up listening to the likes of Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves as well as
Little Richard, Bill Haley, Teresa Brewer and the Platters.
Some might
say Don Williams’ musical legacy will be more long-lasting that all of his
mentors combined. Reasons for what is bound to be his enduring success is the
simple wisdom, unabashed sincerity and accessibility of his warm melodious
style. He was a man who shamelessly sang of sentiments like love, commitment
and even romantic fidelity.
He is
survived by his wife of 57 years, Joy Bucher, two sons, Gary and Timmy, four
grandchildren and millions of Don Williams’ fans who are likely to be looking
for the Tribute Album which was recently released and which celebrates Williams
with many of his timeless hits performed by a younger generation of country
music stars like Lady Antebellum and Garth Brooks.
No comments:
Post a Comment