(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.
Wonderful To Night
Don Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She puts on her make-up, brushes her long blond hair
And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"
I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight"
We go to a party, everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady walking around with me
And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"
I feel wonderful
Because I see the love light in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
You just don't realize how much I love you
It's time to go home now, I've got an aching head
So I give her the car keys, she helps me to bed
And then I tell her as I turn out the light
"Oh, my darling, you were wonderful tonight
Oh, my darling, you were wonderful tonight"
The song "Wonderful Tonight" by Don Williams describes a special evening that the singer had with his significant other. He talks about how they are getting ready to attend a party, and his partner is asking him for reassurance about her appearance. He tells her that she looks wonderful, and they go to the party together, where everyone is admiring them as a couple. He expresses his love for her and how happy he is to see the love light in her eyes. At the end of the night, he is feeling unwell, so he gives her the car keys and she helps him to bed. As he drifts off to sleep, he tells her how wonderful she was that night.
The lyrics provide a beautiful snapshot of a special moment in a relationship. The singer shares his vulnerability with his partner, portraying a deep level of intimacy between them. He makes her feel beautiful and loved, as well as grateful for her nurturing care for him when he is unwell. The song is a classic example of a love ballad that has been embraced by generations of music lovers.
Line by Line Meaning
It's late in the evening, she's wondering what clothes to wear
The night is already advanced and she's still searching for something to wear
She puts on her make-up, brushes her long blond hair
She takes the time to enhance her beauty before the party
And then she asks me, 'Do I look all right?'
She seeks affirmation and validation from me for her appearance
I say, 'Yes, you look wonderful tonight'
I am truly impressed by her beauty and feel privileged to be with her
We go to a party, everyone turns to see
As we arrive, all eyes are on us and the attention is on her
This beautiful lady walking around with me
I am filled with pride to be escorting such a stunning woman
And then she asks me, 'Do you feel all right?'
She is concerned with my well-being and making sure I'm enjoying myself
I say, 'Yes, I feel wonderful tonight'
I am feeling great because I am with her and we are having a great time
I feel wonderful
Being in her company fills me with absolute joy and happiness
Because I see the love light in your eyes
I can see her love for me reflected in her eyes, and that is what makes me feel wonderful
And the wonder of it all
Being in love with each other is an amazing experience that leaves me feeling awestruck
You just don't realize how much I love you
She may not fully understand just how much I am in love with her
It's time to go home now, I've got an aching head
The night is over, and I am ready to rest after all the excitement
So I give her the car keys, she helps me to bed
Trusting her completely, I allow her to take charge and care for me as we leave the venue
And then I tell her as I turn out the light
Right before falling asleep, in a moment of vulnerability and honesty, I share my true feelings with her
'Oh, my darling, you were wonderful tonight
I express my gratitude and appreciation for a truly unforgettable night spent with the love of my life
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERIC PATRICK CLAPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cirlei Fajardo
Vivendo o sonho...
Tocar você é viver o sonho
de passear pelo universo...
Ser tua lua vestida de festa
por todas as horas da noite
sem pressa do dia seguinte...
Acordar com seu "Bom dia!"
sussurrado em meus ouvidos
e uma xícara de café...
Maravilhoso...
Me alimentar dos teus beijos
no adoçado céu da tua boca...
Ser teu par, tua poesia,
na escancarada janela
da tua alma sonhadora
em mil noites sem fim...
Neste devaneio estou em ti, transmuto todos os sonhos e pensamentos meus e
Sou feliz!
Cirlei Fajardo
16 de junho de 2021... 04h30...
Bonnie Melton
This man has a voice that nobody else can match. He melts my heart I don't care what he seems I could listen to him all day long. It's a shame we had to lose him we miss you Don.
Frank Solomon
Hi
David Walker
He sings with so much love and passion, everyday I listen to this, used to play this with my wife who passed away years ago so tragic as the day goes by I miss her more
Maxine Hall
I listen to him every night when I get in bed, you're right he has a unique voice
Elizabeth Becknell
His more voice I would love to Singa duet with... Love the music@Frank Solomon
Dean Nederhoff
He has a lower voice like I do.bass/baritone
Carol Kiago
I can't enough of this! I Love it. Rest peacefully Don William.
Henry Spencer
Alan Jackson is a very talented Singer and he has this magical voice and lyrics that I love 💕💕❤️ his songs will never be forgotten in this world 🌍. So tell me when have you been listening to Jackson songs?
Nga Tafao Alofa
Thank you
Don Williams.
Forever remembered for these beautiful songs.
Beautiful voice .
Peace be with you.
👑💎🌺🌷🌟✨🕊
Dean Nederhoff
This was the first song I learned to play on guitar and then sang to the wife on our wedding night.was always one of my favorite songs,then I found a recording of Don doing it and loved the song even more.RIP Don. One of the great song writers and performers.wish I had gotten to see you.you will be greatly missed.as Red Sovine said "catch you on the other side"