Don Williams - Information

INFO	JUST THE FACTS

GIVEN NAME:	Don Williams
DATE/PLACE OF BIRTH:	May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas
REARED IN:	Portland, near Corpus Christi, on the Texas gulf coast
MARITAL STATUS:	Wed to Joy Bucher on April 10, 1960
FAMILY:	Don and Joy have two sons, Gary and Tim
HEIGHT/WEIGHT:	6'1" at 180 lbs.
HAIR/EYES:	Brown/Hazel
INSTRUMENT:	Guitar, which Don began playing as a teenager. He would hurry home from school to try and pick a favorite tune heard on the radio.
FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE:	When Don was three years old he sang in a local talent contest and won first prize, an alarm clock.
FIRST PAID JOB IN MUSIC:	In 1957, while in high school, Don and a group of friends played for the opening of Billups Service Station in Taft, TX. They were paid a total of $25.
OTHER EARLY JOBS:	Don worked as a bill collector, drove a bread truck, worked in the Texas oil fields, in furniture retailing, in a smelting plant, and for Pittsburgh Plate Glass.
POZO SECO SINGERS:	In 1964, while living in Corpus Christi, Don formed the well remembered Pozo Seco Singers, a very successful trio (Lofton Cline, Susan Taylor and Don) that sang a variety of music from folk to pop and country. Their first single, Time, climbed into the national Top 10 and there were other chart hits by the group; the Pozos disbanded in 1969.
MANAGEMENT:	Royal Chimes, Inc. Email: management@don-williams.com
BOOKINGS:	US bookings: The Bobby Roberts Company PO Box 1547 Goodlettsville, TN 37070 Tel: (615) 859-8899 Fax: (615) 859-2200 Contact: Bobby Roberts bobby@bobbyroberts.com http://www.bobbyroberts.com
PUBLICITY: Promotion Pictures Link	Royal Chimes Inc. management@don-williams.com
RECORD LABEL HISTORY:	JMI Records released Don's first solo (a single titled Don't You Believe) on June 16, 1972. He signed with ABC/Dot on May 17, 1974. The Dot label was discontinued in late 1977 and Don continued to record for ABC. In March of 1979, ABC was bought out by MCA Records. When he left MCA, Don signed with Capitol July 15, 1985. In May, 1989, Don moved to RCA and in June of '94 he moved to the American Harvest Recording Society, which released Don's first live album, An Evening With Don Williams, a collection of 15 songs recorded live during his 1994 UK tour. In August, 1995, American Harvest released Borrowed Tales, and in October of 1996 the label released the album Flatlands. Don signed with Giant Records in June of 1998 and released I Turn The Page that fall. In early 2001 Don signed with RMG Records and released Greatest Hits Live- Volume 2.
MUSIC PUBLISHING:	Everybody And Their Dog Music (ASCAP) Every Dog Has Its Day Music (BMI) PO Box 160206 Nashville, TN 37216
PERSONAL APPEARANCES:	Don Williams appears in concert at select dates throughout the year. He has headlined a variety of prestigious venues, from the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo to the Roxy in Los Angeles, from a sold-out Carnegie Hall in New York to London's Royal Albert Hall.
THE DON WILLIAMS BAND:	John Clausi - guitar / harmonica / vocals Charles Cochran - piano / keyboards Steve Turner - drums / percussion Matt McKenzie - bass / vocals Billy Sanford - guitar / mandolin / vocals Don Williams - guitar / lead vocals
SOME WHO HAVE RECORDED SONGS WRITTEN BY DON:	Johnny Cash / Eric Clapton / Lefty Frizzell / Sonny James / Lobo / Charley Pride / Kenny Rogers / Pete Townshend
FIRST SONG DON WROTE:	Walk It Off, when he was 14
PARTIAL LIST OF TV CREDITS:	Tonight Show The Nashville Network Debut Country Music Association Awards Academy of Country Music Awards Country Gold: The First 50 Years Austin City Limits Solid Gold The Don Williams Special (BBC/UK) Hee Haw Live From Tucson (Don's TNN special) Prime Time Country Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee The Statler Brothers Show TNN's Country News
MOTION PICTURES:	Don costarred with Burt Reynolds in W. W. & The Dixie Dance Kings, a major motion picture for 20th Century Fox. He made a cameo appearance in Smokey & The Bandit II for Universal. He also did the voice-over for the CBS-TV movie, Reunion In Hazard.
MUSIC VIDEOS:	Don Williams was the first country music artist to make a concept music video. It was produced in 1973 in support of his third single for JMI Records, Come Early Morning. In 1986, Don starred in a music video for his Capitol single, Heartbeat In The Darkness. In 1995 his video Fever, was released by American Harvest.
INTERNATIONAL APPEARANCES:	Australia / Belgium / Brazil / Canada / Denmark / England / Finland / France / Germany / Holland / Ireland / Monaco / Norway / Scotland / Spain / Sweden / Wales / Zimbabwe
TRADEMARK HAT:	"The hat was first given to me by the people at 20th Century Fox when I was filming W. W. & The Dixie Dance Kings. I really had worn hats very little prior to that. But the guy who made it for me, his specialty was styling hats to a person's features. And I just little by little got to wearing it, until it became like a part of me - I kid about it turning into a growth, but I really don't feel right if I go outside now without wearing it. I feel like I'm not dressed." Since the original, the Stetson Hat Company of St. Joseph, MO, has fashioned exact replicas for Don.
DON'S FAVORITE SONG:	Theme From A Summer Place, by Percy Faith
LEISURE ACTIVITIES:	Fishing, and tinkering with his prized '56 Chevy.
THE DON WILLIAMS CREW:	Jeff Hatfield - Road Mgr. / Production Mgr. production@don-williams.com [ Tech Rider and Plots ]