Hometown Artist…Don Williams

Dave from A Sound Day wanted us to write about our Hometown and for us to write  either a song about our hometown or highlight an artist from there.

It’s my sister’s birthday today so I thought I would post this since she is in it. Dave posted this a while back.

If you have read my blog for a while…you already know a couple of these stories so I do apologize. When someone asks me where I’m from I usually say Nashville. I was born there but I lived/live in a small town north of Nashville. It’s a town called Ashland City and it’s your typical two-redlight town. I could write about Nashville but that would cover around 20 posts so I’ll go with the town I grew up in.

Now to confuse everyone…there are 3 towns close to each other in the same county. Ashland City, which is the capital of the county, Pleasant View, and Chapmansboro where I live now…they are all within 7-8 miles of each other so “Ashland City” pretty much covers them all…at least in our minds.

3 major country stars lived in our small area while growing up at that time. Don Williams, Mel Tellis, and Randy Travis. I was at my sister’s house in the eighties and I heard her scream and then run out and slam the door. She woke me up with her oohing and ahhing and I asked what was going on. Someone was riding a horse down tout dirt road. Tammy (my sister) went out and talked a little and she came back all happy.

I asked who it was and she said it was Randy Travis. I was a total modern country snob back then…I told her…when Eric Clapton rides by on a horse…then you wake me up. Make it someone worth it…yea I know I wasn’t nice. The reason for the snobbery…if you live here you are expected to like country music…but I couldn’t take it…except early country music. You start to rebel against music that is thrown at you constantly. That may be the reason I liked British rock artists more than country artists in my backyard. As I got older I started to appreciate them more.

Why did I say, Eric Clapton? Many of us think he might have visited our town in the 70s. The reason was that he was good friends with Don Williams. Now I did like Don Williams a lot. I also liked Mel Tillis but Randy Travis was part of that new country at the time that I didn’t really care for. I personally think my sister just loved the way he looked more than anything else.

Here are two stories that I’ve told before…The first star I met was Loretta Lynn and I had breakfast with her at her ranch (in a town called Waverly) which was the coolest breakfast I ever had while I was 8 years old. I would see other stars (Jerry Reed and Kenny Rogers) also once in a while but only really talked to two…Loretta Lynn and the featured artist today.

I was around 10-12 and I played baseball at the city ballpark. I would go there after school and practice. There were days I would just hang around and talk to people. I saw this man mowing the grass that had this old cowboy hat on. After a little while, he stopped and talked to me and asked me how I was doing. I knew the guy’s face and it came to me… I was talking to Don Williams. The reason I knew him was because of my mom’s country albums. I wasn’t into country music but some songs I did like.

I would see him off and on throughout my teenage years and he always was as nice as can be. I went to school and played baseball with his son. Don would mow the city park and the high school field. I’m not sure if he was bored or just wanted to help the community…he was a super guy either way. One of the last things he did was help raise money to get his church a new building. He passed away at 78  years old in 2017.

Williams had songs like It Must Be Love and I Believe In You…plus many more.

I Believe in You peaked at #1 on the Country chart in 1980. It also peaked at #1 in Canada on the Country Charts. It ended up being Don Williams’ only Top 40 song on the Billboard 100, the song peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100, #4 in New Zealand, and #20 in Australia.

It Must Be Love peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and #2 on the Canada Country Charts in 1979.

All together Williams had 21 #1 singles on the Country Charts and a total of 25 studio albums and 62 singles.

Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend were admirers of Don Williams and both covered his songs. Eric Clapton would cover Tulsa Time and take it to #30 in the Billboard 100.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

24 thoughts on “Hometown Artist…Don Williams”

    1. It was a pretty cool town to grow up in…a modern “Mayberry” pretty much. It’s nice to think back on him and know he was such a nice guy.

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  4. Don was old-school country, like Loretta and Dolly. I saw him back in the 80s at Billy Bobs in Fort Worth. He’s pretty low key and sat on a stool and played for most of the show. I have one of his albums, if I can find it, it’ll get a spin in remembrance of old Don. Me and Momo live in a small town southwest of Fort Worth, Granbury, Texas is likely a town like yours, small, patriotic, friendly and into country music. How cool is that, having breakfast with Loretta? You have touched royalty. The 90s ruined country music, Garth Brooks? Really? He was all a marketing campaign and played rock with a fiddle added as a prop.

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    1. The breakfast thing…even at 8 years old Phil…I knew to appreciate it because I saw her pictures everywhere on television and album covers.
      Don was just a great guy…just did things for the city to help out anyway he could.
      I never got to see him perform…that I regret.

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  5. Good to re-read this one, you’re lucky to have known him .He sounds like a good guy in every sense. I like that ‘I Believe in You’ song and always thought Clapton’s (version of his) ‘Tulsa Time’ was one of his better songs of the ’70s.

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  6. Such a cool story. I could listen to stories about guys like Gibson all day. “Mowing the grass”, doing something for the good of it. I like the guy already. Novel concept. Obviously I know Don but not a lot of his music. The covers you mentioned is about it. Very easy, relaxed voice with the usual solid backing. Guys like Gibson dont add to the madness. Good one Max.

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  9. I remember you shared these amazing stories. Don Williams really seemed to be a remarkable guy. I mean you really wouldn’t expect a guy with 20-plus no. 1 singles on the country charts cut the grass at the local ballpark. This suggests Williams was a humble person whose success didn’t get to his head – a quality I really like. You may be right, I suppose he wanted to give back to the community!

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      1. This is what I love about your blog – one blast from the past after another! I remember both of those tunes from when I was a kid, but it’s probably been 40+ years since I’ve heard either one of them and I never knew who did them. Keep up the great work! Thanks again!

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