Tex Williams

Tex Williams (born August 23, 1917 in Ramsey , Illinois as Sollie Paul Williams , † October 11, 1985 in Newhall , California ) was an American country singer and band leader.

Beginnings

Originally from the northern state of Illinois, Williams moved to Los Angeles in 1942 , where he joined the Western Swing Big Band of Spade Cooley as a vocalist under the name Jack Williams . Thanks to his pleasant, warm voice, he soon rose to become the lead singer. He changed his first name to Tex .

The tyrannical and unrestrained Cooley threw Tex Williams out of his orchestra after disputes in June 1946. Several band members followed, and so in the same year Williams was able to form his own big band, the Texas Caravan .

Career

After two only moderately successful singles, the breakthrough was achieved in 1947 with Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette) . The record sold more than two million copies and reached number 1 in both the country and pop charts. The song, composed by Merle Travis , is humorous gossip about nicotine-addicted contemporaries. The spoken chant used by Williams, called "Talking Blues", became a trademark of the Texas Caravan Big Band.

Tex Williams And His Western Caravan became stars almost overnight. More singles followed, but they could not build on the success of Smoke, Smoke, Smoke . The entire USA was toured in several tours. Record sales soon went down and they had to change labels. The big band broke up in 1957 and Williams continued on his own until the 1970s.

Tex Williams died of pancreatic cancer on October 11, 1985.

Discography (albums)

• 1955 - Dance-O-Rama # 5
• 1960 - Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!
• 1962 - Country Music Time
• 1963 - Tex Williams In Las Vegas
• 1966 - The Voice Of Authority
• 1971 - A Man Called Tex
• 1974 - Those Lazy Hazy Days

Web links

• Biography (English)
• Tex Williams in the Internet Movie Database (English)