Donald Ray Williams was born in Floydada, Texas May 27, 1939 to James Andrew Williams and Loveta Mae Lambert Williams. His grandfather on the Williams side was Emory Rains Williams who was also the grandson of Emory Rains, namesake of Rains County. Don’s father was a carpenter and the family moved from time to time. Don was the youngest of three sons of James and Loveta Mae. By the time Don reached high school age, the parents had either separated or divorced. James remained in West Texas. Don was living with his mother in Portland, Texas where he graduated from Gregory-Portland High School in 1958.
Don served two years in the United States Army Security Agency and received an honorable discharge. Afterward he returned to the Corpus Christi area where he began to engage in his long musical career. He married the former Joy Janene Bucher of Corpus Christi in 1961. A sad family event occurred two years later. In the summer of 1963, Don’s oldest brother Kenneth was electrocuted in an on the job accident at Cisco, Texas. Kenneth was 29 and had come to Cisco about a week earlier to work at an ice plant after spending several years working in the oilfield near Corpus Christi. Kenneth had recently moved in with his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Virgil F. Lambert of Cisco. According to news reports, Kenneth, a single man, had apparently came in contact with a live wire while operating a hoist pulling 300 pound ice blocks from steel containers in the ice plant. Kenneth had come to work at the plant only a few days earlier that week.
Don learned to play the guitar at 12. He and several other Corpus Christi musicians had performed together in various groups. Over time, their association had led to the creation of a group they named the Pozo-Seco Singers. The origin of the group’s name is said to have come from a term on oilfield maps. “Pozo seco” is a Spanish expression for a dry hole, an unsuccessful oil well. The founding members of the group were Williams, Lofton Kline and Susan Taylor. The group was active during the 1960s mostly playing songs in the folk genre. Don played guitar and sang. The group’s first charted song was called “Time” with Taylor on lead vocals. This led to a contract with Columbia Records. Over the next several years, Pozo Seco released several singles and four albums. Their list of recordings also included an album cut of “Guantanamera,” a popular Cuban folk song which they performed in Spanish. It has a similar sound and feel as the charted song by the Sandpipers, but was not released as a single for Pozo Seco.
Later members of Pozo Seco were Ron Shaw and Russell Thornberry. The group eventually disbanded around 1969 or 1970 after the stress of personnel changes and other circumstances. It was further affected by the shift away from folk music and the market’s expansion more into rock. Taylor and Williams were part of the group the entire time. Williams and Taylor also had the longest careers among the members. Taylor went on to enjoy a singing and songwriting career under the name of Taylor Pie while Williams transitioned to a country music career of around four decades. The demise of Pozo Seco can be viewed as a beneficial event for Williams.
Williams moved to Nashville and got a job as a songwriter for “Cowboy Jack” Clement around the same time as fellow Texan Bob McDill who notes that their acquaintance turned into a career long working relationship. In addition to performing his own songs, Williams found success with those written or cowritten by McDill. Eight of McDill’s songs became Number 1 hits for Williams. The list of Williams’ most popular McDill-related songs include “(Turn Out the Light and) Love Me Tonight,” “Say It Again,” “It Must Be Love,” “Good Ole Boys Like Me.”
Don found lasting success as a performer and recording artist. His engagements took him all over the world, including events in Ireland, England, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and many other countries. Many photos show him on stage in casual clothes wearing his old felt hat. Typically he would be sitting on a stool. After a long career, Don made a “farewell tour” in 2006, fully intending to retire. He was quoted as saying that he was ready to get off the road and spend more time with his family. He added that he had been on the road for many of the years since 1965 and that touring did not leave much time for anything else. However, a few years later he was lured back to the studio for two more albums over the next ten years.
Don’s vast discography includes scores of songs that he either wrote or co-wrote and more than two dozen albums. His smooth, easy going style was loved by many. His first Number 1 recording was “I Wouldn’t Want to Live if You Didn’t Love Me” from 1974. He amassed sixteen more number one hits. His best known Number 1 songs are usually considered to be “I Believe in You” from 1980 and “Lord, I Hope This Day is Good” from 1982. He had 52 songs that reached the country music top 40 list. Don’s songs were covered (recorded) by many other artists. A partial listing includes the following: Kenny Rogers, Billie Jo Spears, Bill Medley, Charley Pride, Alison Krauss, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Alan Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Leon Russel, Lefty Frizzell and many others. Don had two film credits: playing himself in “Smokey and the Bandit II” and a character named Leroy in “W. W. and the Dixie Dancekings.” These were both Burt Reynolds projects. Reynolds was known to be a supporter of country music.
During the core of Williams’ career, his sidemen, other musicians who played with him, included Danny Flowers, Biff Watson, Dave Pomeroy and Pat McInerney. Flowers wrote “Tulsa Time” which was one of Williams’ most popular songs. Flowers says that “Tulsa Time” was written while the band was stranded in Tulsa due to a winter storm. Several other songs written by Flowers were recorded by Williams.The four musicians were known as the Scratch Band. They also served as Williams’ studio band for many years. Don produced an album for them back in 1982.
Nicknamed “The Gentle Giant,” Don’s professional recognition includes being voted into the County Music Hall of Fame in 2010. He was named Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978 by the Country Music Association. That same year, his recording of “Tulsa Time” was named the Single Record of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.
Don passed away in 2017 from complications of a respiratory disease. He was survived by his wife of 57 years, their two children and numerous other family members. Don’s ashes were spread in the waters of the Gulf which he loved.
In 2017, a tribute album was released called “Gentle Giants: The Music of Don Williams.” Artists contributing to the recordings are Pistol Annies, Brandy Clark, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton, Alison Krauss, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Trisha Yearwood, Keb’ Mo’ and Garth Brooks. It was produced by Don’s long time friend and producer Garth Fundis.
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