Wayne Williams
Gaylon Wayne Williams (born May 1, 1933 in Hickman , Kentucky ) is an American rockabilly musician .
Life
Childhood and youth
Wayne Williams received his early musical education as a child from his mother and in church. While in high school, Williams formed his first band and got a show on local station WFUL in Fulton , Kentucky. After graduating from high school, Williams was drafted into the US Army and fought in Korea . After his discharge from military service, he began to work as a carpenter with his father.
Career
His job as a carpenter only lasted a few weeks, because shortly afterwards Williams moved to Chicago , Illinois , where he played in small clubs. Eventually he went to Jackson , Tennessee , where he met Lamar Davis. Davis was a producer promoting young local talent. Williams recorded with the Sure Hots in 1957 his first single Red Hot Mama , which was released on Williams' own label Sure Records in February 1958. The name Sure alluded to how certain Williams and his band were that the song would be a hit. Due to a lack of marketing, the record only sold poorly.
After that, Williams and the Sure Hots moved to Texas , where they played in the evenings at Rosie's Barn nightclub in Dallas . Their popularity rose quickly and shortly thereafter they were hired for the Big D Jamboree on KRLD, where they shared the stage with stars like Carl Mann and Carl Perkins .
In the mid-1960s, Williams settled in Nashville , Tennessee , where he worked as "Gaylon Wayne". In 1968 he held his first session in Nashville producing Paper and Pen for Harvest Records. In the early 1970s, Williams had a contract with United Artists . His later songs, which he recorded in Nashville, also showed a clear rockabilly influence despite the country-style Nashville atmosphere. A good example of this is The High School's on Fire .
Discography
year | title | Record company |
---|---|---|
1958 | Red Hot Mama / Tell Me What To Do | Sura 1001 |
196? | Pen and Paper /? | Harvest |
1971 | I'll Always Love You So / High School's on Fire | United Artists UA52071 |
I'm Gonna Love The Devil Out of You /? | United Artists 7172 | |
Unpublished titles | ||
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[Status unknown] |
Web links
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Williams, Wayne |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Gaylon Wayne (real name); Wayne, Gaylon |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1933 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Hickman (Kentucky) |