Tex Williams

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Tex Williams

| image = Tex Williams 1967.JPG

| caption = Williams in 1967

| image_size = 220px

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Sollie Paul Williams

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|08|23}}

| origin = Ramsey, Illinois, United States

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|10|11|1917|08|23}}

| death_place = Newhall, California, United States

| instrument = guitar, Harmonica

| genre = {{Flatlist|

Western swing
country}}

| occupation = Singer-songwriter

| years_active = 1946–1978

| label =

| associated_acts =

| website =

}}

Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985){{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-726-6|page=454}} was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held the number-one position on the Billboard chart for 16 weeks in 1947. "Smoke" was the number-five song on Billboard's Top 100 list for 1947, and was number one on the country chart that year.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/tex-williams |title=Tex Williams | Billboard |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 11, 2021 |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811220217/https://www.billboard.com/music/tex-williams |url-status=dead }}

Life and career

He was born in Ramsey, Illinois, United States. Williams started out in the early 1940s as vocalist for the band of Western swing king Spade Cooley, based in Venice, California.

Williams' backing band, the Western Caravan, numbered about a dozen members. They originally played polkas for Capitol Records, and later had success with "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke", written in large part by Merle Travis.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/williams_tex/bio.jhtml |title=Tex Williams : Biography |publisher=CMT |access-date=March 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417213638/http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/williams_tex/bio.jhtml|archive-date=April 17, 2012}}

In April 1956, Williams appeared on the Chrysler-sponsored CBS TV broadcast, Shower of Stars.Disk Talent Feature of 'Stars' Show. Billboard, April 14, 1956. p. 36

Williams died of pancreatic cancer on October 11, 1985.Kienzle, Southwest Shuffle, p. 99: "In 1985, he died of pancreatic cancer (not lung cancer, as was widely reported)."

Filmography

Williams and the Western Caravan appeared in these films:

Tex Williams and His Western Caravan (1947)
Tex Williams and Orchestra in Western Whoopee (1948)
The Pecos Pistol (1949)
Tex Williams' Western Varieties (1951)

Discography

=Albums=

Image:TexWilliams.jpg

class="wikitable"
Year ! Album ! US Country ! Label
1955 \| Country and Western Dance-O-Rama No. 5 \| \| Decca
1960 \| Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! \| \| Capitol
1962 \| Country Music Time \| \| Decca
1963 \| Voice of Authority \| \| Imperial
1963 \| Tex Williams in Las Vegas \| \| Liberty
1966 \| Two Sides of Tex Williams \| style="text-align:center;"\| 26 \| Boone
1971 \| A Man Called Tex \| style="text-align:center;"\| 38 \| Monument
1974 \| Those Lazy, Hazy Days \| \| Granite
1977 \| The Legendary Tex Williams: Then... Now \| \| Corral
1996 \| Vintage Collections: Tex Williams & His Western Caravan \| \| Capitol

class="wikitable"

Year

! Album

! US Country

! Label

1955

| Country and Western Dance-O-Rama No. 5

| Decca

1960

| Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!

| Capitol

1962

| Country Music Time

| Decca

1963

| Voice of Authority

| Imperial

1963

| Tex Williams in Las Vegas

| Liberty

1966

| Two Sides of Tex Williams

| style="text-align:center;"| 26

| Boone

1971

| A Man Called Tex

| style="text-align:center;"| 38

| Monument

1974

| Those Lazy, Hazy Days

| Granite

1977

| The Legendary Tex Williams: Then... Now

| Corral

1996

| Vintage Collections: Tex Williams & His Western Caravan

| Capitol

=Singles=

class="wikitable"
rowspan="2"\| Year ! rowspan="2"\| Single ! colspan="2"\| Chart Positions ! rowspan="2"\| Album
style="width:50px;"\| US Country ! style="width:50px;"\| US
1946 \| "The California Polka" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 4 \| \| rowspan="13"\| singles only
rowspan="3"\| 1947 \| "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 1 \| style="text-align:center;"\| 1
"That's What I Like About the West" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 4 \|
"Never Trust a Woman" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 8 \|
rowspan="8"\| 1948 \| "Don't Telephone – Don't Telegraph (Tell a Woman)" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 2 \|
"Suspicion" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 4 \|
"Banjo Polka" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 5 \|
"Who? Me?" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 6 \|
"Foolish Tears" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 15 \|
"Talking Boogie" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 6 \|
"Just a Pair of Blue Eyes" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 13 \|
"Life Gits Tee-Jus, Don't It?" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 5 \| style="text-align:center;"\| 27
1949 \| "(There's a) Bluebird On Your Windowsill" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 11 \|
rowspan="2"\| 1965 \| "Too Many Tigers" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 26 \| \| rowspan="3"\| Two Sides of Tex Williams
"Big Tennessee" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 30 \|
rowspan="3"\| 1966 \| "Bottom of a Mountain" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 18 \|
"First Step Down" \| \| \| rowspan="8"\| singles only
"Another Day, Another Dollar in the Hole" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 44 \|
rowspan="3"\| 1967 \| "Crazy Life" \| \|
"Black Jack County" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 57 \|
"She's Somebody Else's Heartache Now" \| \|
rowspan="3"\| 1968 \| "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke – '68" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 32 \|
"Here's to You and Me" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 45 \|
"Tail's Been Waggin' the Dog" \| \|
rowspan="2"\| 1970 \| "Big Oscar" \| \| \| rowspan="4"\| A Man Called Tex
"It Ain't No Big Thing" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 50 \|
1971 \| "The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down"^A \| style="text-align:center;"\| 29 \|
rowspan="4"\| 1972 \| "Everywhere I Go (He's Already Been There)" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 67 \|
"Glamour of the Night Life (Is Calling Me Again)" \| \| \| rowspan="3"\| singles only
"Tennessee Travelin'" \| \|
"Cynthia Ann" \| \|
rowspan="3"\| 1974 \| "Is This All You Hear (When a Heart Breaks)" \| \| \| rowspan="3"\| Those Lazy, Hazy Days
"Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" \| style="text-align:center;"\| 70 \|
"Bum Bum Bum" \| \|
1978 \| "Make It Pretty for Me Baby" \| \| \| single only

class="wikitable"

rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="2"| Chart Positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

style="width:50px;"| US Country

! style="width:50px;"| US

1946

| "The California Polka"

| style="text-align:center;"| 4

| rowspan="13"| singles only

rowspan="3"| 1947

| "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)"

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

"That's What I Like About the West"

| style="text-align:center;"| 4

"Never Trust a Woman"

| style="text-align:center;"| 8

rowspan="8"| 1948

| "Don't Telephone – Don't Telegraph (Tell a Woman)"

| style="text-align:center;"| 2

"Suspicion"

| style="text-align:center;"| 4

"Banjo Polka"

| style="text-align:center;"| 5

"Who? Me?"

| style="text-align:center;"| 6

"Foolish Tears"

| style="text-align:center;"| 15

"Talking Boogie"

| style="text-align:center;"| 6

"Just a Pair of Blue Eyes"

| style="text-align:center;"| 13

"Life Gits Tee-Jus, Don't It?"

| style="text-align:center;"| 5

| style="text-align:center;"| 27

1949

| "(There's a) Bluebird On Your Windowsill"

| style="text-align:center;"| 11

rowspan="2"| 1965

| "Too Many Tigers"

| style="text-align:center;"| 26

| rowspan="3"| Two Sides of Tex Williams

"Big Tennessee"

| style="text-align:center;"| 30

rowspan="3"| 1966

| "Bottom of a Mountain"

| style="text-align:center;"| 18

"First Step Down"

| rowspan="8"| singles only

"Another Day, Another Dollar in the Hole"

| style="text-align:center;"| 44

rowspan="3"| 1967

| "Crazy Life"

"Black Jack County"

| style="text-align:center;"| 57

"She's Somebody Else's Heartache Now"

rowspan="3"| 1968

| "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke – '68"

| style="text-align:center;"| 32

"Here's to You and Me"

| style="text-align:center;"| 45

"Tail's Been Waggin' the Dog"

rowspan="2"| 1970

| "Big Oscar"

| rowspan="4"| A Man Called Tex

"It Ain't No Big Thing"

| style="text-align:center;"| 50

1971

| "The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel
for Single Girls Burned Down"^A

| style="text-align:center;"| 29

rowspan="4"| 1972

| "Everywhere I Go (He's Already Been There)"

| style="text-align:center;"| 67

"Glamour of the Night Life (Is Calling Me Again)"

| rowspan="3"| singles only

"Tennessee Travelin'"

"Cynthia Ann"

rowspan="3"| 1974

| "Is This All You Hear (When a Heart Breaks)"

| rowspan="3"| Those Lazy, Hazy Days

"Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer"

| style="text-align:center;"| 70

"Bum Bum Bum"

1978

| "Make It Pretty for Me Baby"

| single only

^A"The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down" peaked at No. 27 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

Notes

References

Kienzle, Rich. Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky Tonk, Western Swing, and Country Jazz. New York: Routledge, 2003. {{ISBN|0-415-94102-4}}
Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006. {{ISBN|0-8230-8291-1}}