Vol. 6 No. 9
Country Music Newspaper
October 2017
Giant Talent, Gentle Soul – Don Williams Dead at 78 By Claudia Johnson
Don Williams was known as Country Music’s Gentle Giant, in part because of his imposing 6’1” frame but mostly because of his genial demeanor and massive talent. The singer and songwriter, who died last month at age 78 following a brief illness, began performing as a child, winning his first talent competition as a three-year-old. The alarm clock he took home as a prize was virtually worthless to a toddler, but it may have foreshadowed what became one of his most memorable recordings in a lauded 50-year career. “Tulsa Time,” released in 1978 as the first single from Williams’ album, “Expressions,” became his eighth number one country chart hit. While the song’s narrator reveals his failure due to his inability to make necessary adjustments in pursuit of his dreams, the opposite was true of Williams. As a teenager growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast in Portland, a small town near Corpus Christi, Williams played guitar in local bands. His first paying gig came in 1957, when he and some friends played and sang for the opening of Billups Service Station in Taft, Texas, for the hefty fee of $25. In 1960, two years after high school graduation and following an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Williams married Joy Bucher, with whom he had two sons, Gary and Timmy, and to whom he remained married until his death on Sept. 8, 2017. To support his family he took a variety of jobs. At various times he was a bill collector, a bread truck driver and a furniture salesman. He also worked in a smelting plant and spent time in the Texas oil fields, but his music remained important. While living in Corpus Christi in 1964, he formed the Pozo Seco Singers with Lofton Cline and Susan Taylor. The trio sang a variety of music from folk to pop and country. Their first single, “Time,” became a Top 10 hit and other hits climbed the charts before they disbanded in 1969. By 1971 the Williams family had moved to Nashville where Don had a songwriting contract. A recording contract soon followed, and he debuted on the charts in 1973 with
“The Shelter of Your Eyes.” His mellow vocal style and choice of love songs and ballads set him apart from other artists of the time, resulting in 17 number one Country hits during his career.
In 1973 Williams became the first country music artist to make a concept music video in support of his single “Come Early Morning.” Consistently nominated for male vocalist and other awards throughout
the ‘70s, he was voted Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1978. “Tulsa Time” was named Record of the Year by Academy of Country Music in 1979. Only four of the 46 singles he released during his career didn't make it to the Top Ten. His popularity abroad grew, and he earned a devoted following in England, Ireland and New Zealand. At the height of the UK country and western boom in 1976 he had Top 40 pop chart hits with "You're My Best Friend" and "I Recall a Gypsy Woman" and in 1978 a No. 2 album, "Images." In 1975 the CMA of Great Britain voted Williams both Male Singer and Performer of the Year and voted “You’re My Best Friend” Album of the Year. He even became a superstar in South Africa and Kenya. During the 1970s Williams appeared with Burt Reynolds in two films, “W. W & The Dixie Dance Kings” and “Smokey & The Bandit II.” In each he played and sang. He also 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. In 1980 his 11th No. 1 Country hit, "I Believe in You," became his only Top 40 chart hit.
Troy Gentry – Lucky to Have Been Here
By Claudia Johnson One of Country Music’s most successful collaborations ended with the recent death of Troy Gentry, who along with Eddie Montgomery was half of the award-winning duo Montgomery Gentry. On Sept. 8, 2017, Gentry went up for a ‘spur of the moment’ helicopter ride just before 1 p.m. at the Flying W Airport and Resort in Medford, N.J., where Montgomery Gentry was scheduled to play later that evening, when the pilot of the Schweitzer 269 helicopter, James Robinson, made a distress call to the airport. "Initial reports were the helicopter was going to attempt to crash land," Medford police said in a statement regarding the deaths of Gentry
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Eddie Montogmery (left) and Troy Gentry (right).
and Robinson. "Emergency crews arrived at the airport, and shortly
thereafter the helicopter suddenly CONTINUED ON PAGE 11