Marc Williams

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Marc Williams was an American old-time musician . Williams' repertoire consisted mostly of ballads and cowboy songs.

Life

Marc Williams is one of the most unknown old-time musicians out there. Although he made a number of records for Brunswick Records in eight years, he is all but forgotten today. According to an article from the 1930s, Williams worked as a cowboy between Texas and Montana prior to his singing career .

Williams may have been from Texas and lived in Dallas in the early 1930s . He also called himself "The Cowboy Crooner" or "The Singing Texan". His singing style, contrary to the name Crooner , reached far closer to Vernon Dalhart's way of singing. Williams began his career as a record artist on March 22, 1928, when he recorded his first three titles for Brunswick in Chicago . A day later, more songs were recorded, including When the Work's All Done This Fall and Bad Companions , two pieces by cowboy singer Carl T. Sprague . Williams' first single came out with Sioux Indians / Willie the Weeper .

More songs were recorded over the next eight years, mostly cowboy songs like The Cowboy's Dream , Old Chisholm Trail or Cowboy Jack . Most of the time he accompanied himself on the guitar or was accompanied by the ukulele and fiddle . Also worth mentioning is The Little Old Sod Shanty on My Claim , recorded around 1933 in Dallas. Registered as Traditional , the piece has the same melody as The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane , the most famous version of which is from Fiddlin 'John Carson , but with different lyrics.

What happened to Marc Williams afterwards is not known. In the 1930s, his songs were re-released by Decca Records , and Williams appeared as "Happy Hank" on a children's show on WHO in Des Moines , Iowa . In 2004 the Jasmine label released a CD of Williams' collected works under the title The Forgotten Singing Cowboy .

Discography

year title # Remarks
Brunswick Records
1928 Sioux Indians / Willie the Weeper 240
The Cowboy's Dream / When the Work's All Done This Fall 244
Jesse James / Little Joe, the Wranglers 269
William and Marry / Bad Companions 274
Sam Bass / Utah Carroll 304
The Cowboy's Last Wish / Sing Poor Devil Sing 377
Crepe on the Cabin Door / Cowboy Jack 430
Dying Ranger / Night Herding Song 497
Cole Younger / Curley Joe 544
The Boys in Blue / Little Old Sod Shanty on My Claim 564
Unpublished titles
1928
  • Sam Bass (old version)
  • Utah Carroll (old version)
  • Bad Companions (old version)
  • William and Marry (Love in Disguise) (old version)
 Brunswick

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cary Ginell, Roy Lee Brown: Milton Brown and the Found of Western Swing. University of Illinois Press, 1994, p. 64
  2. ^ Ross Laird: Brunswick Records: Chicago and Regional Sessions. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, p. 1004

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Williams, Marc
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cowboy crooner; Singing Texan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American old-time musician
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century or 20th century
DATE OF DEATH 20th century