Leona Belle Helton (born January 7, 1943, in

Vienna, Missouri Vienna is a city in and the county seat of Maries County, Missouri, United States. Its population was 581 at the 2020 census. History Vienna became the county seat in 1855. It was named after Vienna, the capital of Austria. According to folk et ...

, United States) is an 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 known professionally as Leona Williams. Active since 1958, Williams has been a backing musician for

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

and

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

and The Strangers. (She and Haggard were married between 1978 and 1983.) She also charted eight times on Hot Country Songs, with her only Top 40 hit being a duet with Haggard titled "The Bull and the Beaver."

Biography

Leona Belle Helton was born January 7, 1943, in

. Active in her family's band since childhood, she had a radio program on KWOS in Jefferson City, Missouri, when she was fifteen. Later on, she worked as a

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ist and backing vocalist in

's road band. By 1968, Williams signed to the Hickory record label and released two singles: "Once More" and "Country Girl with Hot Pants On." In 1976, she recorded the album ''San Quentin's First Lady'' for

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

with The Strangers, which was the first country album recorded by a female artist inside a prison. She also joined

's road band The Strangers in the mid-1970s, supplanting his estranged wife,

Bonnie Owens Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006), born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard. Biography She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, United Sta ...

. Leona wrote two of Merle's No. 1 hits, "

Someday When Things Are Good "Someday When Things Are Good' is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released in March 1984 as the third single from his album ''That's the Way Love Goes''. The song was Haggard's thirty-first nu ...

", and " You Take Me For Granted". She also wrote songs for

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

--"Dallas", Loretta Lynn--"Get Whatcha Got And Go", and others. Between 1978 and 1983, she was married to Haggard, and in 1978, the two charted in the country Top Ten with the song "The Bull and the Beaver." She recorded two singles for Elektra Records in 1981, and charted another duet with Haggard titled "We're Strangers Again." She later married singer-songwriter Dave Kirby in 1985, and remained married to him until his 2004 death. From 2005 she was with

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen top-20 hit ...

, and remained with him for the last six years of his life. Williams continues to tour with her son, Ron. In 2017, Williams won the Honky Tonk Female honour at the Ameripolitan Music Awards.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Collaborative singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Leona 1943 births Living people American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Hickory Records artists MCA Records artists Elektra Records artists Singer-songwriters from Missouri People from Vienna, Missouri Country musicians from Missouri 21st-century American women