Holly Williams (musician)

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For other people named Holly Williams, see Holly Williams (disambiguation).

Holly Williams
Mercury Nashville
  • Georgiana
    • Websitehollywilliams.com

    Holly Audrey Williams (born March 12, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, the niece of Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr., half-sister of Hank Williams III, and aunt of Coleman Williams. Williams has released three studio albums: The Ones We Never Knew in 2004, Here with Me in 2009 and The Highway in 2013. The Highway was released on Williams' own label, Georgiana Records, and reached No. 146 on the Billboard 200

    Early life

    Williams's mother, Becky, is a native of Mer Rouge, Louisiana, and was married to Hank Williams Jr. for a decade.[1][dead link][3] She was born in Cullman, Alabama, and has an elder sister named Hilary. Her parents separated when she was young. At age 17, Williams began playing one of her father's guitars, and soon began writing songs.

    Williams attended elementary school at St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Brentwood Academy and decided to pursue her passion of songwriting and continue playing guitar and piano. She purchased her domain name, recorded an EP, initiated a website, and booked herself at various Nashville clubs.

    Career

    Soon after signing with

    Universal South Records and toured with Billy Bob Thornton, Jewel, Train, Keith Urban, and Kasey Chambers.[citation needed] Universal South released her debut album, The Ones We Never Knew, in 2004.[1][3]

    In March 2006, Williams was injured in a car crash with her sister Hilary Williams, and canceled her upcoming tour. Her sister was seriously injured, enduring 23 surgeries.[4] Holly Williams' right arm and wrist were broken; she was unsure of when she would play again.[citation needed] She wrote "Without Jesus Here with Me" about her experience during the time of the car accident; it was released on her next record. Hilary Williams wrote a book called Sign of Life about her experience.[4] Holly Williams made small musical appearances at this time, one of them joining John C. Reilly in Nashville, Tennessee, to sing "Let's Duet" during the release of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story on December 9, 2007.

    After a long break Williams began playing guitar and writing songs again, she signed with Luke Lewis at Mercury Records. Williams' second studio album, Here with Me, was released in June 2009. To promote the album, Williams appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Chelsea Lately.[citation needed] People magazine named Williams' 2009 album "one of the top ten albums of the year".[citation needed] Billboard said it was "one of the best singer/songwriter albums to come out of Nashville".[citation needed] USA Today said "Hank Williams' granddaughter reveals a heart-on-sleeve intensity that might be grating were it not for the purity and potency of her milk-and-whiskey-kissed singing and the catchy clarity and integrity of her songs".[5] She filmed a music video for "Alone" and "Three Days in Bed" in Paris.

    Williams finished a six-week tour in Europe in early 2010, and continued the rest of the year headlining gigs and opening for other artists such as

    Jack White, Norah Jones, Merle Haggard and Lucinda Williams were alongside Williams for this project.[citation needed
    ]

    Williams was also a part of Let Us In, a project produced by

    Wings era. Steve Earle and Buddy Miller are also included on the album.[citation needed
    ]

    Williams performing in 2008

    Williams was featured on the soundtrack for Flicka singing "Rodeo Road", written by Tom Douglas and Chuck Cannon. Tim McGraw (who starred in Flicka) named Williams, The Fray and Coldplay as his favorite artists in O, The Oprah Magazine saying "She has the ability to make you believe what she says, to make you feel vulnerable. She's intense and moody; she puts you in a time and place where you never would have imagined yourself—and then you're there."[6] Mel Gibson met with Williams in Nashville and featured her on The Passion of The Christ soundtrack singing "How Can You Refuse Him Now", written by her grandfather.

    Williams' third album,

    CMT
    networks.

    Boutique

    Williams' store "H. Audrey" is a women's clothes boutique in Nashville.[10]

    Personal life

    Williams was married on September 27, 2009, to fellow musician Chris Coleman (who co-wrote three of the songs on The Highway) and they settled in Nashville, Tennessee.[11] They have four children.[12]

    Discography

    Studio albums

    Title Details Peak chart positions
    US Country
    [13]     		US
    US
    Heat
    [14]
    		 US
    Indie
    US
    Folk
    The Ones We Never Knew — — — — —
    Here with Me 37 — 11 — —
    The Highway
    • Release date: February 5, 2013
    • Label: Georgiana Records
    • Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download
    		 18 146 1 24 8
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Singles

    Year Single Peak positions Album
    US Country
    [15]
    2005 "Sometimes" — The Ones We Never Knew
    2009 "Keep the Change" 53 Here with Me
    "Mama" 55
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Music videos

    Year Video Director
    2005 "Sometimes" Kristin Barlowe
    2009 "Keep the Change" Philip Andelman
    "Three Days in Bed"
    "Mama" Eric Welch
    "Alone" Philip Andelman
    2013 "Drinkin'" John Moessner
    "The Highway"[16] David McClister
    2014 "Waiting on June"[17] John Moessner
    2016 "I'm Telling You"[18]
    (with John Prine)     		Joshua Britt/Neilson Hubbard

    References

    1. ^
      CMT. Archived from the original
      on May 1, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
    2. ^ "Holly Williams Biography | Ken Burns". Country Music. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
    3. ^
      Allmusic
      . Retrieved April 29, 2009.
    4. ^
      Country Music Television. December 21, 2010. Archived from the original
      on February 20, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    5. ^ "Listen Up: JoBros grow up through the 'Trying Times'". USA Today. June 19, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    6. ^ "What's Playing in Tim McGraw's Ear?". O, The Oprah Magazine. October 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    7. ^ "Holly Williams: The Highway". American Songwriter. February 5, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    8. New York Times
      . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    9. ^ Arnold, Chuck; Grerr, Carlos (February 18, 2013). "Music". People. Vol. 79, no. 7. p. 49.
    10. ^ "Nashville Faces: Holly Williams". Nashville Lifestyles. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    11. ^ "Country Singer Holly Williams Gets Married". People. September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
    12. ^ Eileen Finan (September 30, 2014). "Holly Williams Welcomes Daughter Stella June". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
    13. ^ "Holly Williams Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
    14. ^ "Holly Williams Album & Song Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2011. [dead link]
    15. ^ "Holly Williams Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
    16. Country Music Television. Archived from the original
      on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
    17. Country Music Television. Archived from the original
      on October 2, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
    18. Country Music Television. Archived from the original
      on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.

    External links
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Holly_Williams_(musician)&oldid=1217411941"