Best Don Williams Songs in 20 Country Essentials which inspired Dolly Porton and many others have interest in…
Don Williams was nicknamed the Gentle Giant at a not-quite towering 6’1”. He was giant, though, when it came to his success on the country charts. With a nearly two-decade-long run in the top ten of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Williams remained steadfast as the genre moved through a number of different aesthetic eras, carving out his own timeless, velvety niche with his distinctive voice and style.
The native Texan had already spent years pushing for hits as a member of the ’60s folk group the Pozo-Seco Singers (best known for their song “Time”) by the time he made it to Nashville and launched his solo career. He had hits almost immediately, and rarely strayed from the sound and collaborators he established early on. Williams produced and wrote as well as sang and played guitar; especially as a producer, he was able to keep his rock solid but still understated soft country-rock sound constant through dozens of songs.
Williams’ rich bass-baritone voice, charming and more than a little seductive, offered another throughline to his catalog. Just about any love song sounded sweeter when Williams sang it, and more modern and groovy when he produced it – so even though he was incredibly prolific through the ’70s and ’80s, his hit rate rarely changed. It was country through an adult contemporary lens, mature and familiar but still compelling. Yet with all that consistency, Williams was still able to dabble in contemporary styles like disco more convincingly than most other country artists – it all still just sounded like Don Williams music, rather than some significant departure.
20. “If Hollywood Don’t Need You” (1982)
Almost a sequel to “Tulsa Time,” the single tells the story of someone left behind in a small town while his lover tries to make it in the movies (and hasn’t yet had to head on back to Tulsa time). All moody, resigned pathos, the song would have sounded quite familiar to Williams fans by the time it was released, nearly a decade into his career — yet the way that it played with leaving song conventions made it still sound compelling and fresh enough to once again bring the singer-songwriter to No. 1 on the country charts.
19. “Rake and Ramblin’ Man” (1978)
Williams’ catalog is remarkably consistent: He found a sound and a style and a type of song that he loved, and rarely deviated. This song is one of his more anomalous hits, though — the singer abandoned his favored four-on-the-floor groove and crooning for a more off-center beat and a little bit of talk singing about unplanned pregnancy. It was written by his frequent collaborator Bob McDill, though, and just like almost every other Don Williams single from the period reached the top five of Billboard’s country chart.
18. “Listen To The Radio” (1982)
“The words I’d say don’t seem to sound as real/The songs they play, that’s how I really feel,” Williams sings in this song-about-songs, a self-referential ode to the power of music. All lush strings and piano, the singer seems to be imagining an adult contemporary station (and not a country one) as he croons about how hard it is to convey how you really feel without an assist from the Top 40.
17. “Love Me Over Again” (1979)
One of Williams’ poppier outings, with a robust string section and some beachy guitar riffs, “Love Me Over Again” was also the singer’s first and only No. 1 hit as the sole songwriter. He also co-produced the seductive tune, crafting its lush layers with hints of the era’s disco and funk sounds but never fully abandoning his country roots. “Likely as not, there’s been better weather,” is also just a fantastic opening line.
16. “Ghost Story” (1974)
Don Williams made his name with straightforward love songs — this album cut, though, serves that convincing affection with a twist. On it, Williams helps his partner move on from a traumatic relationship with characteristic gentleness (and more than a few lightly spooky musical adornments from the pedal steel and organ). The result is unexpected and sweet, a love song for adults with pasts that still has country bona fides to spare.
15. “I Just Come Here For The Music” (2012)
On his second-to-last album, Williams included this duet with Alison Krauss — showing off just how little his supple, rich voice had changed over the years over a bluegrass-tinged bed of sweet acoustic instruments. It’s a compelling story song, painting a picture of two world-weary people who might just find each other. Krauss sounds songbird-sweet as ever, and together they recall the sweet harmonies of “If I Needed You,” 40 years later.
