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Holly Williams | |
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.jpg) Williams performing live in Saint Helena, California, in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Holly Audrey Williams (1981-03-12)March 12, 1981 (age 44)[1][2] Cullman, Alabama, U.S |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
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Spouse | |
| Website | hollywilliams |
| Children | Four |
Holly Audrey Williams (born March 12, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the granddaughter ofHank Williams, the half-niece ofJett Williams, daughter ofHank Williams Jr., half-sister ofHank Williams III, and half-aunt ofColeman Williams. Williams has released three studio albums:The Ones We Never Knew in 2004,Here with Me in 2009 andThe Highway in 2013.The Highway was released on Williams' own label, Georgiana Records, and reached No. 146 on theBillboard 200
Williams's mother, Becky, is a native ofMer Rouge, Louisiana, and was married to Hank Williams Jr. for a decade.[1][dead link][3] She was born inCullman, 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 inNashville, Tennessee. She graduated fromBrentwood Academy and decided to pursue her passion of songwriting and continue playing guitar and piano. She purchased her domain name, recorded anEP, initiated a website, and booked herself at various Nashville clubs.
Soon after signing withCAA, she performed many shows throughout the US and usually toured alone with a guitar and keyboard driving her mother's car across the country. She went to the UK to open for songwriterRon Sexsmith with a backpack full of EPs and a guitar. After the release of her first EP in 2003, she signed withUniversal South Records and toured withBilly Bob Thornton,Jewel,Train,Keith Urban, andKasey Chambers. 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. 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 calledSign of Life about her experience.[4] Holly Williams made small musical appearances at this time, one of them joiningJohn C. Reilly in Nashville, Tennessee, to sing "Let's Duet" during the release ofWalk 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 atMercury Records. Williams' second studio album,Here with Me, was released in June 2009. To promote the album, Williams appeared onThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien,The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,Jimmy Kimmel Live! andChelsea Lately.People magazine named Williams' 2009 album "one of the top ten albums of the year".Billboard said it was "one of the best singer/songwriter albums to come out of Nashville".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" inParis.
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 asJohn Hiatt. AfterBob Dylan called, Williams added her own music and lyrics to a half written Hank Williams Sr. lyric for a project entitledThe Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams that he assembled, released in September 2011.Jack White,Norah Jones,Merle Haggard andLucinda Williams were alongside Williams for this project.
Williams was also a part ofLet Us In, a project produced byPhil Madeira which includes artists singing their favoritePaul McCartney songs in tribute toLinda McCartney. Williams performed "My Love" from theWings era.Steve Earle andBuddy Miller are also included on the album.
Williams was featured on the soundtrack forFlicka singing "Rodeo Road", written byTom Douglas andChuck Cannon.Tim McGraw (who starred inFlicka) named Williams,The Fray andColdplay as his favorite artists inO, 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 onThe Passion of The Christ soundtrack singing "How Can You Refuse Him Now", written by her grandfather.
Williams' third album,The Highway, co-produced by Williams andCharlie Peacock was released on February 5, 2013. She wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, which is common for her recordings. This album includesDierks Bentley,Jakob Dylan,Gwyneth Paltrow andJackson Browne adding backing harmonies.The Highway was released to critical acclaim.American Songwriter magazine said "Williams has recorded her most accomplished, mature and world weary album. Even Hank Sr. would be proud."[7]The New York Times stated "Williams is often closer to songwriters like John Prine orBruce Springsteen, than the smiley Nashville mainstream."[8]People Magazine gave the album three and a half stars and said the album was "sure to go down as one of the year's best country albums".[9] A music video for "Drinkin'" aired onCMT networks.
Williams' store "H. Audrey" is a women's clothesboutique in Nashville.[10]
Williams was married on September 27, 2009, to fellow musician Chris Coleman (who co-wrote three of the songs onThe Highway) and they settled in Nashville, Tennessee.[11] They have four children.[12]
| 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 |
| 18 | 146 | 1 | 24 | 8 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||
| 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] (withJohn Prine) | Joshua Britt/Neilson Hubbard |
| International | |
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| National | |
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