Even if his name isn’t super familiar to you, I bet you’ve heard at least a few of this lyrical icon’s country stylings through the years. Lawton Williams was one of the greatest country singer-songwriters of the 20th century, a self-taught musician who helped shape what country music would become in the 1950s.
Williams also happened to be born on this very day, July 24, in 1922. Let’s take a look back at someone who remains a bit of an unsung hero, both in terms of his military service and his impact on country music.
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The Life and Career of Lawton Williams
Lawton Williams was born on July 24, 1922, in Troy, Tennessee. He was a self-taught musician and learned to play the guitar as a teenager. Initially, Williams didn’t intend to pursue a music career. It wasn’t until he served in World War II that he met one Floyd Tillman, a famed country musician, who mentored him.
After being discharged from the Army, Williams began cutting singles for small labels under the name “Slim Williams.” In 1951, Williams made his major label debut with “Everlastin’ Love”/”Lovin’ Overtime”. Sadly, many of his subsequent singles didn’t find much charting success. But Williams never gave up.
Soon after, Williams became something of an in-demand songwriter. Hank Locklin famously recorded Williams’ tune “Geisha Girl”. “Color Of The Blues”, a co-written effort with country legend George Jones, was also a smash hit. In 1957, Bobby Helms recorded Williams’ tune “Fraulein”, which became a No. 1 hit on the country charts. Famed singer Bobby Braddock once said that “Fraulein” was basically the “Texas national anthem” because of how popular it was in the Lone Star State.
Williams continued to write, record, and perform for decades. It took until 1962 for Williams to finally score a hit of his own with “Anywhere There’s People”, which peaked at No. 13 on the country charts. Funnily enough, the song wasn’t written by Williams, but rather Steve Karliski. He reached the Top 40 again with the song “Everything’s OK On The LBJ” in 1964.
Lawton Williams passed away on July 27, 2007, at the age of 85 in Fort Worth, Texas. Allegedly, according to his daughter, Williams was working on lyrics right up until his passing. Real artists never stop working, it seems. Williams’ memory lives on today in the hearts of country songwriters like him.
Photo via YouTube
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