Don Williams, Country's 'Gentle Giant,' Dead at 78

Don Williams, the Country Music Hall of Fame member whose imposing height and warm, reassuring voice earned him the nickname "Gentle Giant," died Friday, September 8th, after a short illness. An internationally popular country star, Williams recorded dozens of hit songs, including "Tulsa Time," "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" and "It Must Be Love." He was 78. "In giving voice to songs like 'Good Ole Boys Like Me,' 'Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good' and 'Amanda,' Don Williams offered calm, beauty, and a sense of wistful peace that is in short supply these days," Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young said in a statement Friday. "His music will forever be a balm in troublesome times. Everyone who makes country music with grace, intelligence, and ageless intent will do so while standing on the shoulders of this gentle giant." Born in Floydada, Texas, on May 27th, 1939, Don Williams was raised in Portland, Texas, where he learned guitar from his mother. Initially performing in Corpus Christi in a duo called Strangers Two with singer Lofton Kline, Williams and his partner met singer Susan Taylor and formed the folk-pop trio that would be called the Pozo-Seco Singers. Based in Nashville, the trio earned two Top 40 tunes, "I Can Make It With You" and "Look What You've Done," in late 1966. After the group disbanded, Williams landed back in Texas to sell furniture in his father's store before returning to Music City to embark on a solo career. "Cowboy" Jack Clement signed Williams as a songwriter to his Jack Music publishing company, where he recorded demos for songwriter-producer Allen Reynolds, who later went on to helm projects for Crystal Gayle and Garth Brooks, among many others. When other artists proved reluctant to record Williams' songs, Clement signed him as an artist to his JMI Records, releasing his first country single, "Don't You Believe," in 1972. In 1974, the label issued "We Should Be Together," which became the singer's first Top Five hit. Later that year, he scored the first of 17 Number One singles with the romantic "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me." The visionary Clement also shot some of the industry's first-ever music videos for Williams' early hits...more