Joy Elizabeth Williams (born November 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. The winner of four
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s, Williams has released five solo albums and four EPs since her self-titled debut in 2001. She was half of
the Civil Wars
The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup.
History
2008–2010
Both Williams and White had solo careers prior ...
duo from 2009 until 2014.
Early life
Williams was born in
West Branch, Michigan
West Branch is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, the city population was 2,139. It is the county seat of Ogemaw County, Michigan, Ogemaw County. West Branch is mostly surrounded by West Branc ...
, but raised in a Christian home in Mount Hermon in
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the San ...
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...
in 2001.
In addition to singing in church, Williams began writing faith-based pop songs while living in Santa Cruz. At 17, she was signed by
Reunion Records
Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982, by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton.
History
The label was formed by Amy Grant's ...
, a subsidiary of
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.
Williams cites
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...
,
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
Between 2001 and 2005, Williams was nominated for 11
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awar ...
s, and the three records she released on Reunion cumulatively sold more than 250,000 copies. In 2005, she left the label to expand her musical horizons.
Williams traveled to Europe, worked briefly at ''
Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
'' and then at a Nashville boutique. In 2006, she signed a publishing deal with
Warner/Chappell
Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries.
...
music, and in 2008 she co-founded an artist development firm, Sensibility Music, as a vehicle for her career development. That same year Oscar Mayer selected her song "It Doesn't Get Better Than This" for a 2008 marketing campaign. Williams subsequently released three EPs through Sensibility Music. The songs "Charmed Life", "Speaking a Dead Language", and "Sunny Day", were featured on the TV show ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
''.
The Civil Wars
In 2008, Williams attended a writing camp in Nashville, where she met John Paul White. They formed the folk rock duo The Civil Wars in 2009 and released their breakthrough album, ''
Barton Hollow
''Barton Hollow'' is the first full-length studio album from the Civil Wars. Produced by Charlie Peacock, it was released on February 1, 2011. It peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Digital Albums chart, No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' 2 ...
'', in 2011. The album was widely praised by critics and went on to sell more than 650,000 copies in the U.S. White and Williams won four Grammy Awards as The Civil Wars.
The duo announced an indefinite hiatus in November 2012, prior to the release of their 2013 self-titled album. The duo was officially dissolved in August 2014 and in March 2015, Williams said her last conversation with White was after their Roundhouse show in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in November 2012.
Music and acting
Late in 2013, Williams collaborated with
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...
Matt Berninger
Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and ...
from The National on "Hush", the theme song for '' Turn''. Williams and Hayley Williams (no relation) of the rock band Paramore collaborated on a new version of Paramore's "Hate to See Your Heart Break".
Williams began working on a solo album, ''
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
'', in 2014, ultimately releasing the record the following year.
Williams made her acting debut in 2016 in an episode of ''
Roadies
Roadie refers to support personnel who travel with a band on tour.
Roadie or roadies may also refer to:
* ''Roadie'' (1980 film), a 1980 film starring Meat Loaf
* ''Roadie'' (2011 film), a 2011 American comedy film
* ''Roadies'' (TV series), an A ...
'' and her recording of The Chainsmokers' " Don't Let Me Down" was used for a State Farm commercial in 2017.
In 2018, while pregnant with her second child, Williams recorded fifteen songs in a five-day period; of those fifteen songs, twelve were included on her Kenneth Pattengale-produced album, '' Front Porch'', released on May 3, 2019.
Personal life
On June 12, 2004, Williams married Nate Yetton. Williams and Yetton have a son, Miles Alexander, born June 30, 2012; and a daughter, Poppy Louise, born August 6, 2018. In an interview with ''Pop Matters'', Williams stated that she and her husband had "decided to part ways" in early 2019.
Songs from This/Songs from That
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
We Mapped the World
''We Mapped the World'' is an extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
'' EP (Sensibility Music)
*2015: ''
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
Poison & Wine
The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup.
History
2008–2010
Both Williams and White had solo careers prior ...
'' (EP) (Sensibility Music)
*2011: ''
Barton Hollow
''Barton Hollow'' is the first full-length studio album from the Civil Wars. Produced by Charlie Peacock, it was released on February 1, 2011. It peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Digital Albums chart, No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' 2 ...
'' (Dine Alone Records)Staff Write Dine Alone Records retrieved 10/17/17
*2011: "Tracks in the Snow" (Dine Alone Records)
*2012: "Live at Amoeba" EP (Dine Alone Records)
*2013: ''
The Civil Wars
The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup.
History
2008–2010
Both Williams and White had solo careers prior ...