Don Williams, country music's 'gentle giant,' dead at 78
● With his imposing stature and soft-spoken nature, he was known as the "Gentle Giant" of country music.
Country Music Hall of Famer Don Williams died Friday after a short illness. He was 78 years old.
Standing over six feet tall, with a smooth baritone and soft-spoken nature, Williams was known as the "Gentle Giant" of country music. He was a staple of country radio in the 1970s and '80s, releasing 16 No. 1 songs between 1974 and 1985.
Over the course of his solo career, he recorded numerous songs now regarded as classics, including "Good Ole Boys Like Me," "Tulsa Time," "I Believe in You," "Lord, I Hope This Day is Good" and "It Must Be Love."
Don Williams was born May 27, 1939 in Floydada, Texas, and was playing guitar by the age of 12. In the 1960s, he was a member of the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers before striking out on a solo career in the early 1970s.
His start in Nashville came as a songwriter for Cowboy Jack Clement's Jack Music. "Don and I were both working at Jack Music before our careers took off," said songwriter Bob McDill. “One night, when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was in town, Don said, ‘Let’s go backstage and play them some songs.’ "
When they did, the Dirt Band’s John McEuen told them about the advantages that came when a songwriter developed a strong working relationship with an artist. “Neither of us knew it at the time,” said McDill, “but I was standing next to the fella I’d have the biggest relationship with." Williams took eight McDill compositions to No. 1.
Williams' first solo hit, "The Shelter of Your Eyes," came out in 1972; his first No. 1 single, "I Wouldn't Want to Live if You Didn't Love Me" came two years later.
In 1978, Williams won the Country Music Association's Male Vocalist of the Year Award. That same year, he released "Tulsa Time." His recording took home the Academy of Country Music's Single Record of the Year trophy.
He released his last Top 10 single, "Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy," in 1991.
Throughout his career, he brought country music to international audiences from Ireland to the Ivory Coast. His warm voice graced historic venues like London's Royal Albert Hall, and "Don Williams: Into Africa," a concert special filmed in Zimbabwe, was recorded on a tour of Africa in the late 1990s.
Williams launched a farewell tour in 2006 that included a stop at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena, but retirement didn't stick. He returned to the studio with his longtime producer Garth Fundis and released two fine albums, "And So It Goes" and "Reflections," on Sugar Hill Records in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Those were the last studio records of his career. A live album recorded in Ireland was released in 2016.
Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. He was unable to attend the medallion ceremony due to a bout of bronchitis, but Alison Krauss, bluegrassers the Del McCoury Band, and Chris Young were among the artists who performed his songs that night, a testament to his wide-ranging influence and appeal.
"In giving voice to songs like 'Good Ole Boys Like Me,' 'Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good,' and 'Amanda,' Don Williams offered calm, beauty, and a sense of wistful peace that is in short supply these days," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young on Friday. "His music will forever be a balm in troublesome times. Everyone who makes country music with grace, intelligence, and ageless intent will do so while standing on the shoulders of this gentle giant."
Williams retired again in 2016, stating "It's time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home."
"Gentle Giants," a tribute album featuring Krauss, Chris and Morgan Stapleton, Garth Brooks, Dierks Bentley and more singing Williams' songs, was released earlier this year.
Funeral arrangements are unavailable at this time.
-[THE TENNESSEAN]
