Holly William: Latest Musical Branch of Family Tree
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Azstarnet.com- Holly Williams, granddaughter of legendary singer-songwriter Hank Williams and daughter of rowdy country rebel Hank Jr., has thrown her lusty alto into the family business.
But she's following her own, likely much simpler path.
"I would love to be thought of in the same successful light as my dad and grandfather one day. And I would love to hopefully live up to the family name," she said during a recent phone interview from Nashville.
Williams, 28, is the second child of Hank Jr. to enter the family business. Older brother Shelton "Hank III" Williams is a respected punk-rockabilly artist who scarily channels his grandfather's look and sound. Holly Williams skews more toward the rebel roots-rocking country of her father.
On "Here With Me," her Mercury Nashville debut that arrived in stores Tuesday, she sounds more sunny than sour, with a burnished, lived-in and confident sound. Her songwriting is grounded in her experiences rather than exploiting her legendary DNA.
"I Got Jesus Here With Me" was inspired by a devastating car accident in 2006 in Memphis, Tenn., en route to her maternal grandfather's funeral in Louisiana. Her arm was nearly crushed, and her little sister, Hilary, was left with lifelong disabilities.
Hilary has undergone 24 surgeries and walks with a cane, but "everything has finally came around," Williams said. "She feels like herself again."
Because of the accident, "Here With Me" was several years in the making. It has spawned two singles so far: the love-scorned "Keep the Change" and the just-released "Mama," a twangy and somber nod to her mother.
Williams said she would love to see "Mama" strike a chord with radio and become a No. 1 hit. She'd like to write the great country song, fully aware that her granddad's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" are among the greatest country songs ever written.
"I just hope to touch people," she said in a rapid clip that betrays a Tennessee twang. "I hope to influence people's lives and make them feel they have something to relate to me."
"Here With Me" is Williams' second major-label album. Her first was the mostly overlooked "The Ones We Never Knew," released in 2004 by Universal South.
The label did little to market the album, but it did help pay for Williams to tour, including extensive jaunts overseas. Armed with her guitar and a worn copy of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," she boarded buses and trains, with copies of her CD weighing down her backpack.
"I wanted to know what it was like to just go drink beer with the locals in London," she said. "I stayed at bed-and-breakfasts in Italy with these sweet Italian grandmothers, and I played musical cafes at night. It was really cool."
Stateside, she remembers driving her mom's SUV behind Billy Bob Thornton's tour bus when she opened for him a few years ago.
The pay for those shows was about $150 a night, but Williams wasn't doing it for the money. She did it for the rush of a live audience.
She said that some of her favorite concert experiences unfolded recently in small radio station conference rooms with 30 or so fans.
"It's really gritty. Just me and the guitar, seeing how you react," she said.
As for joining in the legacy of the Hanks, Williams said she would like to add her own chapter. It won't necessarily be as good, but it will be her own.
"Most artists who come to Nashville sign a deal, try to get on radio; they're kind of living and dying by radio. If the single doesn't do well, then they have nothing behind them or no kind of Plan B," she said.
"I feel like if worse came to worse and nothing was on radio … I can do my 500-seat singer-songwriter club thing and still kind of fill that void."
But she's following her own, likely much simpler path.
"I would love to be thought of in the same successful light as my dad and grandfather one day. And I would love to hopefully live up to the family name," she said during a recent phone interview from Nashville.
Williams, 28, is the second child of Hank Jr. to enter the family business. Older brother Shelton "Hank III" Williams is a respected punk-rockabilly artist who scarily channels his grandfather's look and sound. Holly Williams skews more toward the rebel roots-rocking country of her father.
On "Here With Me," her Mercury Nashville debut that arrived in stores Tuesday, she sounds more sunny than sour, with a burnished, lived-in and confident sound. Her songwriting is grounded in her experiences rather than exploiting her legendary DNA.
"I Got Jesus Here With Me" was inspired by a devastating car accident in 2006 in Memphis, Tenn., en route to her maternal grandfather's funeral in Louisiana. Her arm was nearly crushed, and her little sister, Hilary, was left with lifelong disabilities.
Hilary has undergone 24 surgeries and walks with a cane, but "everything has finally came around," Williams said. "She feels like herself again."
Because of the accident, "Here With Me" was several years in the making. It has spawned two singles so far: the love-scorned "Keep the Change" and the just-released "Mama," a twangy and somber nod to her mother.
Williams said she would love to see "Mama" strike a chord with radio and become a No. 1 hit. She'd like to write the great country song, fully aware that her granddad's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" are among the greatest country songs ever written.
"I just hope to touch people," she said in a rapid clip that betrays a Tennessee twang. "I hope to influence people's lives and make them feel they have something to relate to me."
"Here With Me" is Williams' second major-label album. Her first was the mostly overlooked "The Ones We Never Knew," released in 2004 by Universal South.
The label did little to market the album, but it did help pay for Williams to tour, including extensive jaunts overseas. Armed with her guitar and a worn copy of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," she boarded buses and trains, with copies of her CD weighing down her backpack.
"I wanted to know what it was like to just go drink beer with the locals in London," she said. "I stayed at bed-and-breakfasts in Italy with these sweet Italian grandmothers, and I played musical cafes at night. It was really cool."
Stateside, she remembers driving her mom's SUV behind Billy Bob Thornton's tour bus when she opened for him a few years ago.
The pay for those shows was about $150 a night, but Williams wasn't doing it for the money. She did it for the rush of a live audience.
She said that some of her favorite concert experiences unfolded recently in small radio station conference rooms with 30 or so fans.
"It's really gritty. Just me and the guitar, seeing how you react," she said.
As for joining in the legacy of the Hanks, Williams said she would like to add her own chapter. It won't necessarily be as good, but it will be her own.
"Most artists who come to Nashville sign a deal, try to get on radio; they're kind of living and dying by radio. If the single doesn't do well, then they have nothing behind them or no kind of Plan B," she said.
"I feel like if worse came to worse and nothing was on radio … I can do my 500-seat singer-songwriter club thing and still kind of fill that void."
