(1) A country singer an… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists by this name:
(1) A country singer and songwriter from Texas.
(2) An alias of techno producer Thomas Wendel.
(1) Don Williams (Born May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas - Died September 8, 2017) spent much of his childhood in Corpus Christi, Texas. His father was a mechanic whose job took him to other regions, his mother played guitar and he grew up listening to country music. He and Lofton Kline formed a semi-professional folk group called the Strangers Two, and then, with the addition of Susan Taylor, they became the Pozo-Seco Singers, the phrase being a geological term to denote a dry well. Handled by Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, they had major pop hits in the U.S. with "Time," "I Can Make It With You" and "Look What You've Done." Following Kline's departure, they employed several replacements, resulting in a lack of musical direction. After Williams had failed to turn the trio towards country music, they disbanded in 1971.
He then worked for his father-in-law but also wrote for Susan Taylor's solo album via Jack Clement's music publishing company. Clement asked Williams to record albums of his company's best songs, mainly with a view to attracting other performers. In 1973, Don Williams, Volume 1 was released on the fledgling JMI label and included such memorable songs as Bob McDill's apologia for growing old, "Amanda," and Williams' own "The Shelter of Your Eye." Williams' work was reissued by Dot Records, and Don Williams, Volume 2 included "Atta Way to Go" and "We Should Be Together." Williams then had a country No. 1 with Wayland Holyfield's "You're My Best Friend," which has become a standard and is the perennial sing-along anthem at his concerts. By now, the Williams' style had developed: gently paced love songs with straightforward arrangements, lyrics and sentiments. Williams was mining the same vein as Jim Reeves, but he eschewed Reeves' smartness by dressing like a ranch-hand. Besides having a huge contingent of female fans, Williams counted Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend among his admirers. Clapton recorded his country hit "Tulsa Time," written by Danny Flowers, a member of Williams' band.
Williams played a band member himself in the Burt Reynolds film W.W. & the Dixie Dance Kings and also appeared in Smokey and the Bandit 2. Williams' other successes include "Till the Rivers All Run Dry," "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend," "Lay Down Beside Me" and his only U.S. solo pop hit, "I Believe in You." Unlike most established country artists, he has not sought duet partners, although he and Emmylou Harris found success in 1981 with their version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You." Among the highlights of Williams' recording career is his interpretation of "Good Ol' Boys Like Me," McDill's homage to his southern roots. Moving to Capitol Records in the mid-'80s, Williams released such singles as "Heartbeat in the Darkness" and "Senorita," but the material was not as impressive. He took a sabbatical in 1988, but subsequent RCA Records recordings showed that nothing had changed.
In 1998, Williams released I Turn the Page on Giant Records, but the label soon closed its country music division. Following a live album in 2001, Williams retuned in 2004 with My Heart to You.
Maintaining his stress-free style, Williams continues to be a major concert attraction, especially in the U.K. and South Africa.
Williams initially started out as a songwriter for Jack Music Inc., since he lacked belief about going solo but then signed with JMI as a solo artist. His 1974 song "We Should Be Together" reached number five and he was signed on with ABC/Dot. His first single with ABC/Dot, "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me," became a number one hit, and was the first of a string of top ten hits he had between 1974 and 1991. In fact, only four of his 46 singles didn't make it to the Top Ten. Recently (as of 2012), he released the album And So It Goes.
From His Own Website.
They came to call Don Williams “the Gentle Giant” in the decades he was a dominating country hit maker because of his unique blend of commanding presence and that laid-back, easy style that has appealed to adult men and women alike—cutting across national and genre boundaries. If those personal and musical qualities stood out strongly across the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, they are all the more distinctive in 2012, when so many country and pop records seem to work as check off lists of somebody’s idea of how to be a man, or hard-sell attempts to indicate affection for a woman. Don Williams has never sounded like he felt the need to sell somebody something, or to prove anything.
On And So It Goes, available from Sugar Hill on June 19th, that winning, self-assured ease is again front and center, and the musical style that has made Don a ballad vocal model for performers ranging from Eric Clapton (with whom he’d traded songs—“Tulsa Time,” “Lay Down Sally”) to Keith Urban (who guests on this release). One listen to the characteristically right-on-target vocals on this first Don Williams recording in eight years and his admirers will be wondering what he’s done to maintain that strength over the hiatus.
“Well, there are things that I don’t do,” Don laughs. “I don’t do a whole lot of sitting around chit-chatting, laughing, and carrying on—especially when I’m on the road, where that just makes you tired, anyway. Even at home on the farm there are literally days on end that I may not say anything but for an hour or two a day.”
This man who so clearly loves the quiet home life can still fill an auditorium or stadium across the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Africa; his special role as an international ambassador for American country and pop music is ongoing and his musical appeal, he has long since been astonished to find, is about the same from the Central Time Zone to central Africa.
“The weird thing about that is—no; I don’t change my show to go play England or Nairobi. I can pretty much choose anything from my repertoire and it works wherever I am, and that still amazes me, because you’re talking about different cultures, sometimes different languages, and the whole nine yards.”
The hundreds of memorable songs in that repertoire—over fifty of them major hits—whether contemplative ballads, affecting love songs or change-up rhythm numbers, have always been a core Don Williams strength and focus. Don and long-time producer Garth Fundis, who returns in that role on this new album, each credit the other with having contributed to their own song-picking and sequencing skills—skills well put to shared use again when Nashville’s finest writers submitted hundreds of songs for consideration for Don’s return to recording. They both knew what they were looking for in selections that would appear on And So It Goes:
“They’re very well written, they’re interesting, and the melody and the lyric are saying the same thing,” Don says. “Even when we’re starting looking for the songs, just experimenting, Garth and I are just in agreement; we just want to make good music that touches our hearts and, hopefully, touches others’ in the process. For many years, though, Garth has fussed at me about one thing— that we need to be sure and do whatever song that I wrote, because I would just pass over it. I get more excited about a new song that I’ve just heard than I do my own material!” (There are, in fact, two Don Williams co-writes among the ten outstanding songs on this new release.)
Riding and crossing the line between country and pop, and all the more distinctive for doing it, Don brought a sound and sensibility to the country charts that proved a smash—a development that was initially a surprise even to him.
“When I was just a wee lad,” he recalls, “I really appreciated people like Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves; all of those guys back then meant a lot to me, but at the same time, I really loved Brook Benton, and the Platters and all of those people. But even when I was ‘in pop’ myself, with everything that I wrote, the only people who really seemed to appreciate it were country fans. That has to tell you a little bit about where your heart’s at, whether your head agrees with it or not!”
Born in Floydada, Florida in 1939 and growing up near Corpus Christi, Texas, Don was playing guitar by age twelve, taught by his mother, and performed in folk, country and rock bands as a teenager. He first gained musical attention as a member of the pop folk trio The Pozo Seco Singers, which had six pop chart hits in 1966-’67, then was signed as a songwriter by Nashville’s Cowboy Jack Clement in 1971—the sort of songwriter whose demos demanded attention. Between 1974 and 1991, Don had at least one major hit every year, including such country standards to be as “ Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Till the Rivers All Run Dry,” “It Must Be Love,” “I’m Just a Country Boy,” “Amanda” and “I Believe in You.” He also had a hit duet with Emmylou Harris on Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You.” Don was the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978; his “Tulsa Time” was the ACM Record of the Year for 1979.
In 2010, Don received country music’s highest honor, with his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Don Williams died on 8 september 2017 after a short illness. He was 78 years old.
(2) Founder and owner of Mojuba & A.R.T.less Records and one half of the Tokomak Records company. He is the creative force behind these imprints and Tokomak's main founding member. His musical influences ranges from Classic, Funk and Jazz via Drum & Bass and Trip Hop to his beloved Detroit Techno and US House, which can be still enjoyed throughout his DJ-Sets. After a few releases on the legendary Pure Plastic imprint, he delivers tracks of his own brand of funk on labels like Rewired, Styrax Leaves and 100% Pure.
Mistakes
Don Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some people say that I'm nuts
For trying to get back together with you baby
They say that once is enough
I should never have left you cause now I need you
Sometimes it happens that way
I come back like a fool who's believing
I don't want to hear another word
Don't need your well thought out advice
Though I thank you all for being kind
I can make mistakes myself just fine
I've got a good friend who knows my trouble
he thinks I'm wasting my time
He said go out and have some fun she's not the only one
But I can't leave her behind
So, I don't want to hear another word
Don't need your well thought out advice
Though I thank you all for being kind
I can make mistakes myself just fine
The song "Mistakes" by Don Williams talks about a man who regrets leaving his partner and wants to get back together with her. Despite other people telling him that he is crazy for trying to reconcile with her, he believes that he needs her and that he can make mistakes himself. He admits that he left her, but realizes that he made a mistake and that he wants her back in his life. He doesn't want to hear any advice from others, no matter how well thought out it may be because he thinks that he can handle his own mistakes. He acknowledges that his friend thinks he is wasting his time, but he can't leave her behind.
The song explores themes of regret, pride, and the importance of personal choices. It highlights the idea that sometimes, people make mistakes, and they should be given the chance to learn from them and correct them. It also shows how personal pride can sometimes get in the way of making the right choices and how people may ignore the advice of others for their own reasons. Additionally, the song emphasizes the importance of personal choice, even if it means making mistakes and learning from them.
Line by Line Meaning
People tell me, boy you're crazy
Some people call me crazy for my actions
For trying to get back together with you baby
They think it's foolish for me to want to reconcile with you
They say that once is enough
They believe that we shouldn't give our relationship another chance
I should never have left you cause now I need you
I regret leaving you and realize that I need you now
Sometimes it happens that way
It's a common situation for people to regret their past decisions
I come back like a fool who's believing
I return to you with hope and faith, even though others think it's foolish
No matter what they might say
I don't care about what others say, I still want to be with you
I don't want to hear another word
I don't want to listen to any more advice or criticism from others
Don't need your well thought out advice
I don't need anyone's well-meaning advice or input
Though I thank you all for being kind
I appreciate the kindness of those who are trying to help
I can make mistakes myself just fine
I am capable of making my own mistakes and learning from them
I've got a good friend who knows my trouble
I have a friend who understands my situation
he thinks I'm wasting my time
My friend believes that I am wasting my time trying to reconcile with you
He said go out and have some fun she's not the only one
My friend thinks that I should move on and find someone else to have fun with
But I can't leave her behind
However, I can't stop thinking about you and can't leave you behind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RICHARD FELDMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Adahrii S Kajiche
People tell me, boy you're crazy
Some people say that I'm nuts
For trying to get back together with you baby
They say that once is enough
I should never have left you cause now I need you
Sometimes it happens that way
I come back like a fool who's believing
No matter what they might say
I don't want to hear another word
Don't need your well thought out advice
Though I thank you all for being kind
I can make mistakes myself just fine
I've got a good friend who knows my trouble
he thinks I'm wasting my time
He said go out and have some fun she's not the only one
But I can't leave her behind
So, I don't want to hear another word
Don't need your well thought out advice
Though I thank you all for being kind
I can make mistakes myself just fine
Trevor Fraser
God, this man is so talented. Everything he touches turns into pure gold. "The Don" is not the only one that has done this song, but he gives it that Don Williams treatment---superb rendition
Donald Merriweather
He was the best
Atan Uche
King of lyrix, good night.
Yvonne Mwewa
My favorite musician ever. I love all his songs. Rest in peace Don
Diana Dunlap
Don Williams is awesome. I love everything he's ever done and always will. His songs take me back to a great time in my life. let his music live!!!!!
Donald Merriweather
Agreed
Keshari Suthar
Don Williams is soulful, sincere, superb, spellbinding and sweet in his singing. He is one of the best country singers ever. 👌👌👍👍❤❤
OcpCommunications
Rest In Peace Don. You were one of the only country musicians I genuinely liked and a true legend. My hat goes off to you sir.
rissa dawn
OcpCommunications his voice is angelic and so calming! A lot of people my age don't even know who he is but is was and will always be one of my faves! And this is my fave song of his!
Ron Wilson
Loved your music son. Hope you're singin' with the angels