''Don Williams Volume One'' is the debut studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

. Released in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

on the

JMI Records JMI Records (Jack Music International) was an American record label founded in 1971 by Jack Clement, and was primarily active until 1974, when the catalog was sold to ABC-Dot Records. It was notable for having been the record label that first sign ...

label, the album reached number five on the US Country Albums Chart. It was re-issued in 1974 on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

DOT label and subsequently in 1980 on the MCA label. " The Shelter of Your Eyes" and "

Come Early Morning ''Come Early Morning'' is a 2006 American film starring Ashley Judd and Jeffrey Donovan. It marked the List of directorial debuts, directorial debut of Joey Lauren Adams. The film was shot throughout the metropolitan Little Rock, Arkansas area incl ...

" were released as singles in 1973.

Background

From 1964 to 1971, Don Williams formed and played with the band the Pozo-Seco Singers. In 1966, the band signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, due to the strength of their first single, "Time". Williams left the band in 1971, and moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, where he met producer and writer

Allen Reynolds Allen Reynolds (born August 18, 1938) is an American record producer and songwriter who specializes in country music. He has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Biography Early ...

, who introduced Williams to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer and businessman

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

, who had just founded JMI Records. Williams was soon signed to JMI records, and Reynolds would go on to produce and write on Williams' next two albums. Initially a songwriters demo was recorded to sell Williams' songs to other artists. However, when there wasn't a strong initial response, it was decided to record and release a full-length album.

Content

At the time the album was released, the Nashville sound featured more elaborate orchestral arrangements; however ''Don Williams Volume One'' caught on. In addition to producing the album, Reynolds contributed the song "

I Recall a Gypsy Woman "I Recall a Gypsy Woman" is a song written by Bob McDill and Allen Reynolds, and originally recorded by Don Williams in 1973. In 1976, at the height of the country and western boom in Britain, his version charted at number 13 on the UK Singles Cha ...

" written along with

Bob McDill Robert Lee McDill (born April 4, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s an ...

and Williams. While not initially released as a single in 1973, the song would be released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

from the '' Don Williams Volume Two'' album single "Atta Way Go", and as a single in the UK in 1976, where it become a minor hit.

had a hand in writing three of the album's songs, including the final song on the album, "Amanda", which was also included as the B-side on his No. 12 hit "Come Early Morning." Williams' version reached No. 33 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. When Williams died in 2017, his version of "Amanda" was singled out in his ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' obituary:

“In giving voice to songs like ‘Good Ole Boys Like Me,’ ‘Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good’ and ‘Amanda,’ Don Williams offered calm, beauty, and a sense of wistful peace that is in short supply these days,” Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young said in a statement Friday. “His music will forever be a balm in troublesome times. Everyone who makes country music with grace, intelligence, and ageless intent will do so while standing on the shoulders of this gentle giant.”

The masters for both "Come Early Morning" and "Amanda," along with Williams' other recordings for JMI Records, were sold to ABC-Dot Records in 1974.

Track listing

From the original

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

Personnel

From the album liner notes: * Don Williams - lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Joe Allen - bass *

Kenny Malone Kenny Malone (August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021) was an American drummer and percussionist. Life and career Malone was born in Denver, Colorado. From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic ...

- drums * Jimmy Colvard,

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

- electric guitar *

Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...

- fiddle * Chuck Cochran - organ * Bobby Wood, Chuck Cochran - piano *

Chip Young Chip Young (born Jerry Marvin Stembridge, May 19, 1938 – December 20, 2014) was an American session guitarist, and later record producer who worked primarily out of Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Chip Young was born Jerry Marvin Stembridge in ...

, Jimmy Colvard - rhythm guitar *

Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 Chart Hit, No.1 Country music, country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O- ...

- steel guitar * Don Sheffield - trumpet * The Joyful Noise - backing vocals *

Danny Flowers Daniel W. "Danny" Flowers (born 1948) is an American songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist based in Nashville. He is known for creating songs that became hits for other artists. His best-known song is "Tulsa Time" recorded by ...

- harmonica

Production

* Produced by Allen Reynolds * Violin Arrangements by Chuck Cochran

References

{{Authority control Don Williams albums 1973 debut albums Albums produced by Allen Reynolds