Holly Williams, Upholding and Enhancing a Family Tradition

Singer-songwriter Holly Williams, grandchild of legendary honky-tonk provocateur Hank Williams Sr. and daughter of hard-charging country star Hank Jr, is a long, tall siren with an intense, smoldering style and a fabled bloodline that affords her both a tremendous advantage and some built-in, inescapable challenges. On her current Here with Me album (Mercury Nashville), she excels at gracefully navigating between the extremes such a vaunted legacy guarantees. The 28-year-old Williams has taken a measured, deliberate career path, one that has shrewdly focused on her merits as an artist and fastidiously avoided taking the easy way out--her first release, 2004's impressive The Ones We Never Knew, could scarcely be classified as a country album at all.

While Here with Me features plenty of fiddles and steel guitars, the set never stoops to naked exploitation of country's most famous brand. Instead, it consistently delivers thoughtful, communicative songs, all put across with her own distinctive lyrical approach. Williams' resonant mix of solid craftsmanship and unflinching self-examination has already propelled the album's first two singles, "Keep the Change" and "Mama," in the mid-range of the country chart, and both songs reflect a prideful independence and a respectful acknowledgment of her extraordinary lineage. The former title's assertive message of liberation and the latter's warm familial affection navigate elegantly through the potential minefield of dysfunction and internecine competition any Williams inevitably contends with. While those built-in pitfalls almost killed her father and clearly haunt half-brother Hank III, this Williams’ coolly considerate modus operandi reveals arresting new aspects of a musical DNA strand that's already produced remarkable, trans-generational evolution.

Significantly, Williams wrote, or co-wrote almost the entirety of Here with Me (the set closes with a cover of Neil Young's "Birds"), and while her lyrical explorations represent a flourishing creativity that is hers alone, Holly Williams nobly upholds--and enhances--her much celebrated family tradition.

Written by Jonny Whiteside

http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/540016

"I'm so excited to be touring with Jewel!" Holly Williams tells The Boot, as she packs her bags to hit the road with her fellow sultry songbird next month. "She's always been one of my favorite artists and is a huge inspiration for female songwriters ... She has always paved her own way and made it look easy."

Holly will open shows for Jewel starting Nov. 6 in Biloxi, Miss. Click here for a full list of tour dates.

Also on the road with Holly will be her new husband, Chris Coleman, who plays drums and guitar in her band. The two were married last month on an historic farm estate in Nashville, where Holly was, of course, escorted down the aisle by dad Hank Williams, Jr.

http://www.theboot.com/2009/10/21/holly-williams-to-tour-with-jewel/

Holly Williams and Chris Coleman

Sunday, September 27 / Nashville

It was a wedding fit for country-music royalty. Hank Williams’ granddaughter Holly found the locale on the Internet – the grounds of an 1830s antebellum mansion, where guests dined on grits and red velvet cake. Afterward the singer, 28, and her new hubby, drummer Coleman, 29, performed Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.” There was only one party pooper. “I’m looking at my Vera Wang gown,” Williams says, “and it is covered with mud and ripped to shreds.”

Holly Williams Looks So Good in Love

9/30/09

By: Alison Bonaguro

The last time she rolled through Chicago on a radio tour, I interviewed Holly Williams about her new album and asked her what kind of a country songwriter she was. She said, "I am not a depressed, earth-is-falling-all-around-me songwriter." And now that she's just tied the knot, I'd say that's still very much the truth. She wed Chris Coleman in Nashville last weekend. Wearing a Vera Wang gown, she joined her husband and danced their first dance to Emmylou Harris' "I Dug Up a Diamond." Her father, Hank Williams Jr., walked her down the aisle. And Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus sang "Bless the Broken Road" for the newlyweds. All this wedded bliss will surely inspire even more of her trademark poetic musings, so stay tuned.

Holly Williams Ties the Knot
from: TheBoot.com
http://www.theboot.com/2009/09/28/holly-williams-ties-the-knot/

Holly Williams' designer wedding gown was "covered with mud and ripped to shreds" after her nuptials on Sunday -- but that only made the singer laugh at the fun she had on her "magical" day.

Holly, granddaughter of Hank Williams and daughter of Hank Jr., married her drummer, Chris Coleman, outdoors at an historic farm estate in Nashville. The bride was escorted down the aisle by her dad, whom she tells PEOPLE "was wildly nervous but he did great with it. He kept himself together."

Her groom, on the other hand, wasn't as good at keeping his composure. "When she turned the corner with her dad, I was overwhelmed, and the closer she got the more beautiful she got," Chris tells PEOPLE. "I don't know if it was the sun radiating or her, but either way I was sweating."

Among the guests were Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill, Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus and Kid Rock, who both sang at the reception, along with Holly herself, who serenaded her groom with Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours.' The newlyweds' first dance was to Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler's 'I Dug Up a Diamond' -- a special song for the couple, as Chris buried the engagement ring on a scavenger hunt that led to his proposal earlier this summer.

As for her dress, Holly may not get it cleaned. "The grandkids will think I was a wild one," she laughs.


Hank Jr. walks his country-singin' daughter Holly Williams down the aisle
from: Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-5157-Country-Music-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Hank-Jr-walks-his-countrysingin-daughter-Holly-Williams-down-the-aisle

Reality-show star Khloe Kardashian wasn't the only celeb to tie the knot on Sunday, but it's likely her wedding gown was still intact at the close of her nuptials, which his more than country singer Holly Williams can say these days.

The granddaughter of country-music icon Hank Williams Sr., 28, wed drummer Chris Coleman, 29, in Music City in a ceremony that, thanks to two weeks of near-nonstop rain in the area, had no shortage of mud.

Following the outdoor nuptials, Holly told PEOPLE magazine, "I'm looking at my Vera Wang exclusive gown on the hotel room floor and it is covered with mud and ripped to shreds."

As for passing her designer gown on to the future generations, "The grandkids will think I was a wild one," she says, laughing.

Nevertheless, bride Holly and groom Chris accomplished what they set out to do Sunday at Cedarwood, an 1830s farm estate in Nashville, where a nervous Hank Jr. walked his daughter down the aisle, as 10 bridesmaids, also clad in Vera Wang gowns of black, looked on.

On the music front, Holly's latest single is "Mama," a loving "thank you" to her own mom, that's contained on the singer-songwriter's still-new Here With Me album. After being proposed to in July, however, Holly's had to make room for wedding planning, in between promoting her new CD and performing, including at the recent Americana Music Festival in Nashville. In the process, though, her tweets took a back seat, but fans likely understand.

"So bad about tweeting lately, been in the road doing shows and planning my wedding next Sunday!" she tweeted Sept. 19. "Eating hibachi and coming down with strep."

Luckily, the blond performer's health held up and the wedding went down with nothing short of an unforgettable bride. As evidence, according to PEOPLE, Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill was among the groomsmen on Sunday, and reportedly, he broke out in a sweat after spying the ravishing bride.

"Holly was breathtaking," he told celebrity-news mag PEOPLE. "When she turned the corner with her dad I was overwhelmed, and the closer she got the more beautiful she got. I don't know if it was the sun radiating or her, but either way I was sweating."

The star-studded wedding, with its pews dressed up with lavender sachets, also listed Kid Rock and Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus--who sang a solo version of "Bless the Broken Road"--among its guests. Kid Rock, in fact, also chimed in musically during the reception, singing a sampling of Bob Seger tunes.

The newly-wedded couple took to the stage, too, opting to take on their own rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," but only after their first dance as a Mr. and Mrs. Coleman to "I Dug Up a Diamond." The couple's choice of the first-dance number by Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler was a natural, since Coleman buried the engagement ring for Holly to discover.

Kudos to Holly and Chris ... and here's to making beautiful music together!


COUNTRY STAR WILLIAMS WEDS IN TENNESSEE
from PR-Inside.com

Country legend HANK WILLIAMS' granddaughter HOLLY WILLIAMS wed fiance CHRIS COLEMAN in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday (27Sep09).
The 28 year old daughter of Hank Williams Jr. exchanged vows with the drummer, surrounded by stars like Kid Rock and Kings of Leon star Nathan Followill, who was among the groomsmen.
Vera Wang designed the bride's gown and black dresses for Williams' 10 bridesmaids.
Kid Rock and Rascal Flatts star Jay DeMarcus performed at the ceremony and reception, while country singer Williams belted out Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered with her new husband on drums.



COUNTRY STAR WILLIAMS WEDS IN TENNESSEE
from: OneWed.com

http://www.onewed.com/news/2009/09/29/eading-holly-williams-wears-vera-wang-wedding-gown-her-big-day

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
2009-09-28 23:54:02

Country legend HANK WILLIAMS' granddaughter HOLLY WILLIAMS wed fiance CHRIS COLEMAN in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday (27Sep09).
The 28 year old daughter of Hank Williams Jr. exchanged vows with the drummer, surrounded by stars like Kid Rock and Kings of Leon star Nathan Followill, who was among the groomsmen.
Vera Wang designed the bride's gown and black dresses for Williams' 10 bridesmaids.
Kid Rock and Rascal Flatts star Jay DeMarcus performed at the ceremony and reception, while country singer Williams belted out Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered with her new husband on drums.


Holly Williams wears Vera Wang wedding gown on her big day
from: OneWed.com

Sep 29th 2009 | 11:49am

Despite nearly ruining her Vera Wang wedding gown, country singer Holly Williams has no regrets about her raucous nuptials.

In fact, Holly - the granddaughter of music legend Hank Williams and daughter of Hank Jr - told People.com that the wedding dress will make a good story someday.

"I'm looking at my Vera Wang exclusive gown on the hotel room floor and it is covered with mud and ripped to shreds," she told the news provider. "The grandkids will think I was a wild one."

Holly and fiancé Chris Coleman said "I do" on September 27 at a farm estate in Nashville, where guests sat outside on church pews. According to People, her bridesmaids also wore Vera Wang gowns - in black.

Kid Rock was one of the famous guests in attendance who also performed at the reception, while Holly and Chris delivered their own version of the Stevie Wonder classic Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Earlier this year, People also exclusively reported on the pair's creative engagement. Chris buried Holly's engagement ring in a wooden box underground and told her they were going on an outing to dig up civil war relics.

Holly Williams Lives to See the Light

Country music is all about storytelling -- and three generations of the Williams family have given us some of the most dramatic, inspiring and heartbreaking stories of all time.

For Holly Williams, the granddaughter of Hank Williams and daughter of Hank Williams Jr., writing songs that relate personal stories -- like the ones on her critically-acclaimed album 'Here with Me' -- are just a way of life, even when those stories are difficult to relive.

In 2006, Holly and her sister Hilary were involved in a harrowing, near-fatal auto accident -- a near-tragedy that seems eerily similar to their dad's horrific fall down the side of a Montana mountain in 1975.

Just one mile before the accident, Hilary suggested to Holly that she buckle her seatbelt. "It was a sunny day and I had my feet out the window," Holly tells CMA Close Up. "I usually didn't wear my seatbelt, I guess maybe because everyone said you had to."

While Holly's injuries were visually more severe than her sister, she says that when Hilary was found at the scene, "she was medically dead. Her blood pressure was 55 over 0. She was blue."

Unlike their dad, who endured extensive facial surgery after his accident, Holly says neither of their faces was damaged, but their injuries were still devastating.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the feature at theboot.com.

DR Exclusive Interview: Holly Williams

9/8/2009

Holly Williams the daughter of Hank Williams, Jr. and half-sister of alternative-country singer Hank Williams III. Williams has released two studio albums: The Ones We Never Knew and Here with Me, in 2004 and 2009 respectively. The latter album has produced two chart singles for her on the Billboard country singles charts with "Keep the Change" and "Mama". I recently visited with Holly about the new project and about some of the personal things in her life.

Bev: Thank you Holly for spending some time with me, can you tell me a little about the new project?

Holly Williams: Thank you for taking time, I would love to share a little. “Here With Me” was released on June 16 and I recently was on the Craig Ferguson show prompting my CD and I have been touring with Sugarland. I currently have a couple shows in September and I’m going back to Europe in November. Basically I have been just touring and promoting as much as I can.

Bev: How does this project differ from the first CD you released?

Holly Williams: They are somewhat similar in the sense that the styles didn’t change. It was more the production of the project that changed. I’m 5 years older; therefore I’ve grown up a lot since the first record and vocally, I am a lot stronger.

Bev: How much of an impact did the car accident have on this project for you?

Holly Williams: I had written about half of the songs before the car accident happened. I did write a song called, “Without Jesus Here With Me” after the accident and because of it. Surviving this has just made me want to better myself in every aspect.

Bev: Did you write a majority of the songs on this project?

Holly Williams: Yes I did.

Bev: What kind of writing style do you have when you write your songs?

Holly Williams: I like to have a storytelling style to my songs. I like to see things visually and see the story.

Bev: Is there any Williams family traditions you try to carry on?

Holly Williams: Not really, I’ve mentioned a few things but it’s not something I try to do.

Bev: Do you have a favorite song on this C.D.?

Holly Williams: “Alone” is my personal favorite. It is a song I wrote about three years ago and many people can relate because so many people have a fear of getting close right away and committing yourself to someone.

CLICK HERE to read the entire interview at DigitalRodeo.com.

Click Here For The Full Interview

» www.countrystarscentral.com

Holly Wiliams
Building a Career One Step at a Time!

BY CHUCK DAUPHIN

If you’re one of the fortunate people to see Mercury recording artist Holly Williams on tour this year, chances are you have seen her joined by her talented parent-----her mother, Becky, for whom the song was written. “Yeah, she has,” says the singer when asked about her occasional harmony singer. “She started singing with me on “Mama,” and it was more for fun in the beginning, but she’s a great background singer. She sang on “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” for Waylon and Willie. She sang on Conan and in Birmingham. Whenever she can get to a show, I’m going to try to bring her. That’s been a really neat thing. I never thought we’d be singing together on TV or anything, so it was really special to have her out there.”

The song, which is one of Nashville’s finest moments on record this year, documents the relationship that the two have shared---as well as the relationship between them and that other famous parent, Hank Williams, Jr. “The song is really special to me,” she says. “She never talked negative to my sister or me about my father, and they have managed to stay close friends over the years.”

The song is from Holly’s debut disc for Mercury, Here With Me, which has been garnering rave reviews since its’ June release. PEOPLE has called it “one of the year’s best Country albums,” while the Detroit Free Press exclaims that Williams has “”a voice that conjures up a dream blend of Dusty Springfield and Lucinda Williams. It’s not Williams’ first rodeo as a recording artist, though. In 2004, she released her debut, the underrated gem The Ones We Never Knew. As that record was causing a buzz, tragedy struck. She and her sister Hilary were involved in a serious automobile accident in Memphis. By the time her parents arrived at the hospital, both were in critical condition. Both survived the crash, which she re-visits in “Without Jesus Here With Me.” Of the real-life track, she says “I was raised in a family of faith, and when the wreck happened, I think it makes you try to re-instill your faith. It was such a tragedy, and such a miracle that my sister and I lived. She was able to keep her limbs, and didn’t have to lose her legs or anything like that. It was such a miracle. It’s kind of about my personal faith and what I believe.”

If it sounds like Williams doesn’t mind being up close and personal with her songwriting, that’s because it’s true. It’s something she’s been doing since she was eight years old, when she penned a song titled “Who Am I,” about a woman going through a broken marriage. Though her writing has improved since then, she admits that "the way I wrote then is the way I write now. A song comes to me in its entirety. The chorus and melody come at the same time, but I didn't really sing my songs for many people back then. It was just kind of the first hints of what I would do later."

One might think that Williams picked up a few tricks of the trade from her father---or her grandfather’s work. If that’s so, she says it would have to be genetic. The music of either Hank really didn’t have a lot of influence on her during her formative years musically. “I didn’t know much about Hank Williams growing up other than a few songs he had written,” she confesses. “Other than “Hey, Good Lookin” and “I Saw The Light,” I didn’t know much about him.” She actually became aware of his legend through others. “When I first started discovering Bob Dylan, Neil Young. Springsteen, it really brought me back to Hank Williams when they would say that was our influence. Bob Dylan would tell me stories about him that I didn’t even know.”

As far as her father goes, she knew how he made a living, but she wasn’t as aware of “Bocephus” as you might think. “Even right now I’m parked outside his farm so I don’t lose cell service,” she says while on the phone near Paris, TN. “He’s been out shooting guns with my fiancée this morning and we’re doing the crab boil thing today and fishing, so it’s always been the farm life with him. I went to a few shows growing up…five or six, and he doesn’t really play guitar around us that much. He will if you ask him to, but it’s all about the farm and hunting and fishing….He says I’m not “Bocephus”---I’m Daddy. He kept it about family, and never told us about the music business as much. I didn’t even go to my first awards show with him until I was about 23. The first one I ever went to was with my manager….not with him. He always kept it very separate, and didn’t want us to be growing up in a family where it was music business parties all the time.”

Believe it or not, Holly says her growing up years were actually pretty normal. “I grew up with my mother in a two-story brick home in Green Hills, around Nashville, and went to school, church, and field trips. There were a few times he brought the jet in, and flew us to a show, but it was so few---it was like winning the lottery when it happened.”

Here With Me has sold briskly since its’ release, and the first single, “Keep The Change,” has gotten some airplay, but Williams isn’t looking at the charts each week to see where she’s at. The singer is hoping to build a career that lasts, and her goals reflect that. “I’m 28 now, and my goal is to be selling out the Ryman when I’m 35,” she says of the venue where her grandfather encored six times with “Lovesick Blues” back in 1949. Achieving that goal, she says, can be done…one fan at a time. “Growing up with my dad, he has such a committed fan base. He toured relentlessly----300 shows a year for years and years non-stop, so it’s all about going to Birmingham and playing for a hundred fans, and the next time they bring fifty friends, and then the next time they bring fifty. I just want to build that type of career.”

She cites Emmylou Harris as an example of an artist she would love to pattern her career after. “I think she’s carved out an interesting career. She is able to do some really interesting things with Mark Knopfler and Patty Griffin, but she can still go out and play a show and have tons of fans come in.”

With arguably the most famous last name in the genre’s history, she doesn’t hesitate when asked whether her lineage is a blessing or a curse. “It’s really neither,” she says. “I don’t think that people really compare me. I feel that I’m so different from my father and my grandfather---I’m a female, and I play piano---so I’ve brought some different things to it. Maybe if I was another guy in a country hat, I think it would be a lot harder.”

She doesn’t think that she had any edge in getting a record deal. “It wasn’t a blessing in terms of business. It’s not like a label signed me because I’m Hank’s daughter. They put money into an artist, and they have to believe in them whether they are ‘someone’s daughter’ or not.” She doesn’t look at it as a hindrance, either. “It’s never gotten in the way….I’ve never felt like “Oh, if I could be seen for who I was ….with the way I started my career and the first album….I wasn’t in the Country loop as much, but was touring around the world and doing left of center things….people weren’t like “Oh, she’s trying to put out a Country drinkin’ song like her dad. I really don’t have any of those, so it hasn’t hindered me in any way. I never feel like I’m being compared.”

With the release of Here With Me, the future is definitely looking bright for Holly Williams these days---professionally and personally. She’ll be tying the knot in late September, and is excited about the nuptials. “I’ve known him for years, and he and my dad have been getting along great.” So…will the “Rowdy” one get a little misty-eyed when walking his daughter down the aisle? “We will see,” she says with a laugh in her voice. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Hank Jr’s daughter Holly shines onstage at Alys Stephens
August 24, 2009

Country singer Holly Williams made an appearance in Birmingham on Thursday night, Aug. 20. The 28-year-old artist played in the Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall at the Alys Robinson Stephens Center.

Holly took the stage in tan leather boots, hair in a ponytail and guitar in hand. In spite of the rain, she had an attentive audience and quickly made a connection with them making it seem like they were old friends.

Her sincere personality was well-suited in the small, intimate recital hall. She enveloped her performance with humor and stories from her personal life.

Her music was equally personal. In the middle of the show, Holly’s mom took the stage next to her as a backup singer for the song “Mama.” Holly told the audience how her mother had never spoken bitterly about her father, country singer Hank Williams Jr., during their divorce. Holly also played songs by other artists such as Welch Gillian’s song “Orphan Girl.”

After the show Holly welcomed the audience in the lobby and signed autographs. Holly said she hopes to play a series of shows in Birmingham next. Make sure not to miss this artist next time she comes to town.

August 20, 2009

Up-and-coming artists Sean Patrick McGraw and Holly Williams are the newest professional members of the Academy of Country Music. McGraw, currently on the America's Toughest Tour with Toby Keith, stopped by the ACM office this week to play a few songs and sign up for professional membership. The Academy also welcomed Williams to professional membership while she was in Los Angeles at The Mint promoting her album, “Here With Me.”

Here With Me, By Holly Williams

Review by Kerry Fried

Holly Williams is country royalty: Hank Williams' granddaughter and Hank Williams Jr.'s daughter. But along with paying her dues in Nashville from the age of 18--she's now in her late 20s--she has toured with the likes of Ron Sexsmith and worked with Cat Stevens. In short, Williams has the twang, but she can also rock.

And with any luck, future mention of her second album, Here With Me, will be preceded by phrases like "award-winning," "fine," even "sublime." Deep-country traditionalists might term the disc folk-rock, but it also features a clutch of straight-on country tunes.

The opening cut, "He's Making a Fool Out of You," which Williams co-wrote, is a cautionary tale about cheating and saving face, and "Mama," a tribute to her mother, again explores that subject. As for the driving, deeply fun "Keep the Change," a lighter, contemptuous kiss-off, it should be all over the charts. Anyone not moved to sing along doesn't, as they say, have a heartbeat.

Still, some of the quieter tunes are her most memorable. "Three Days in Bed" is the album's most naked piece. As Williams, alone with an acoustic guitar, recounts a few days of lust in Paris, the song's simple images--wine, cigarettes, a clock--increase in resonance. Her voice, clear and yearning, transforms the simple phrase "and you can have me" into something haunted and powerful. This track and the next, "Alone," are two of Williams' five originals (she co-wrote three others), and as the disc progresses, a key theme emerges: the safety of home and the expected choice vs. the lure, and dangers, of freedom. "I'm sitting around singing sad, sad songs / And it ain't, ain't getting me nowhere," Williams belts out on "Keep the Change."

On the contrary--however you classify Here With Me, it's a joy.

Holly Williams Channels Hank Sr.'s Lonesome Sound

Posted: August 13th, 2009 at 2:01 pm | By: Whitney Self

Holly Williams seems to effortlessly pluck the words right from the pages of her own diary to masterfully form beautiful, poetic lyrics. Just watch her most recent video, "Alone," from her current album, Here With Me, as she bravely exposes her insecurities: Maybe I give up too easy. Maybe I don't fight enough ... These walls that surround me are strong and they're tall... . When I spoke with her earlier this summer, she told me "Alone" referred to all of our innate fears of commitment and that this song in particular was written from what she calls her "Hank Sr.-esque songwriting place." Listen and you'll hear how naturally that lonesome sound seems to seep through each note. But don't be surprised if it also takes you to a reflective state, questioning your own uncertainties, mistakes and possibly even fears.

July 31, 2009

Stacks: Holly Williams, Maxwell

Country songs have a valuable tendency toward concrete, detailed descriptions of relationships. It is probably the only genre—other than hip-hop and moody hard rock—that regularly addresses the family unit. I have been listening to the second album by Holly Williams, “Here With Me,” and the song I keep returning to is “Mama.” It’s a weeper without the weeping. Williams makes it clear that her Daddy was not so big on family (more “the whiskey and the women”) and then thanks her Mama for teaching “the power of forgiveness.” One implication here is that Williams can have relationships with men untainted by any old bitterness, a sentiment that could easily land on the wrong side of self-help. Here, though, Williams’s mildly Christian take has oomph. The country songbook is rich with excellent sonofabitch paybacks—“Mama” is just a different kind of revenge.

The neo-soul movement (which seems to include any R. & B. song that doesn’t involve a lot of machines or references to hip-hop) often gets tripped up by its own slavish imitation and ideas of sincerity. Every now and then, though, somebody like D’Angelo or Erykah Badu makes it seems like a mortal can continue the work begun by artists like Sly Stone and Betty Davis and Prince. I have not felt before that Maxwell was in a league with Badu and D’Angelo, but he’s getting close. “Pretty Wings” is a ballad descended from Prince’s “When 2 R in Love,” and it earns the right to borrow. The music is barely there, refusing to come out from behind the linen drapes, and Maxwell underplays every move, especially the chorus. The R. & B. ballad is too often a frame for ornate hooting—one imagines the object of desire in the other room, checking her e-mail until the singer wraps it up. This song simply sounds like its title, and that is enough.

If you find these specific breakdowns helpful and don’t feel like waiting for these irregular entries, you can follow my Best of 2009 list. I screw up the ordinal numbers and links sometimes, but the content changes often and is meant to help you navigate the musical content blizzard.

CLICK HERE to watch part of Holly’s performance at The Mint in NYC and a special interview with the Academy of Country Music.

CNN HEADLINE NEWS’ (HLN) feature on HOLLY ran several times this past Sunday. The video & Q&A is on CNN.COM .

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PIECE

Music Spotlight: Holly Williams

Thursday, Jul 30,2009

An amazing voice, a hot Nashville Boutique (H. Audrey) and incredible family music roots puts Holly Williams in our Music Spotlight! Williams' latest album for Mercury Nashville, Here With Me, is a Must Hear. Williams shares with My Scoop what inspires her, musicians she admires and why she would like to be on the ground ASAP.

Read the full story on myscoop.us

» www.myscoop.us

Conversation Corner with Holly Williams

By: Andrew Vaughan

Holly Williams may just be the most exciting singer-songwriter to come down the alt.country pike since Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Nanci Griffith burst onto the scene over twenty years ago. Holly Williams has that natural songwriter’s ability to say deep profound things with apparently effortless simplicity. It’s a gift she maybe inherited form her Grandfather Hank Williams Sr., a country music legend who made a career form stating the profound with beautiful simplicity. Holly has a new album, ‘Here With Me’ available and is playing shows around the country to promote the CD.

How does promoting an album compare with the creative process of writing and recording?

“Well usually I’d say it doesn’t, but I am actually really enjoying talking about this album. I think it’s because I really like it. I hear stories from artist friends of having to promote an album they don’t really like. I love this album, so it’s a pleasure to be promoting it right now. I love it so much that I find myself playing it in the car. I love the job the musicians did on it; it’s just exactly what I imagined it would be.”

Does the media’s constant obsession with you family legacy become tiresome to you as an artist in your own right?

“Because the single ‘Mama’ is at country radio, I think it just solidifies for everyone to go, Hank's daughter, Hank's daughter, Hank's daughter. It definitely wasn't a planned thing on my part, but it's definitely more focused with this album. But it doesn't feel focused in any kind of negative way. I am so proud of my family. I mean Hank Jr. and Hank Sr., it doesn’t get much better than that. Luckily nobody has tried to get me to be like my father. He had to go through that when he was young. They made him sound like his dad and he was not happy at all. But I think the record company has totally embraced me for who I am. I’m not playing the same style of music as my Dad or Hank Sr., so really it’s just people’s interest. I think it’s cool that people still regard my Grandfather so highly, especially in Europe where they understand his importance and influence on music.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

HOLLY WILLIAMS

“Here With Me”

Mercury 3 Stars

Hank Jr.’s daughter is hardly the hellcat her half-brother Hank III turned out to be. But even if she makes a few concessions to Nashville’s commercial sound machine on her second album, there’s enough deep, bone-bruising emotion and songwriting virtuosity in her compositions to mark a worthy heir to their grandfather’s musical legacy.

Speaking of family, Holly is particularly deft at crafting heartfelt messages to her broken-up parents (“He’s Making a Fool Out of You,” “Mama,” “Let Her Go”). Bust her husky, smoked caramel voice wraps even better around tales of romantic euphoria (“A Love I Think Will Last” and “Three Days in Bed,” an astonishing ode to the regenerative power of a brief, targeted infidelity).

Holly Williams plays Tuesday at The Mint, 6010 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Doors at 6 p.m., show starts at 7.

Honky Tonk Happy Hour: Sharing Music

http://www.the9513.com/honky-tonk-happy-hour-sharing-music/

I am drawn towards two things–vocalists and steel guitar players. I keep my ears out for both. But especially the former. Contemporary country music has drowned out the latter. But that’s another column.

So, when someone said that Holly Williams is their new favorite female vocalist, I thought I’d check her out.

You should know that I hate artist websites that automatically play their music. I know it seems logical for an artist website to do that, but when you forget to mute your sound and you’re at work, it’s frustrating to have to click the sound off really fast before you get caught. But when I visited Williams’ site, instead of music I heard her voice talking about the songs on Here With Me. She gives a brief description of the story behind the song, and then the song starts.

But before the song starts, I’m reading her bio. Another Hank Williams progeny. I wonder what this is going to be.

And then I hear her voice. And I’m blown away. But not in a country way. Her music is this mixture of Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow. Her voice is cigarettes and coffee and roadhouse bars with a touch of whiskey. I love it.

I also love that Holly described the stories behind the songs and plays the songs from her whole album. Someone is focused on an album! I miss the album. I miss looking at the cover, removing the shrink wrap and wondering what songs my favorite artist has come up with. Instead, we’re promoting singles–and downloadable singles at that. A single is a teaser. And if I fall in love with the single, it’s even worse. Where’s the rest of the album? I want to hear more!

But what amazed me was that I listened to the stories and the entire album. Truly, I was mesmerized. This is a feat for me. No one stops me in my tracks anymore. No one blows me away. Carrie Underwood has a beautiful voice, but there’s no grit. There’s no bite. There’s nothing that I can sink my teeth into. Beauty without soul is a Barbie Doll. I played with Barbies when I was a little girl, always frustrated that they weren’t alive. Their eyes were frozen and vacant. Nowadays you can get talking dolls. But they can’t respond or feel.

Isn’t that what we’re looking for? Isn’t that the point of music? To make us feel? There are some beautiful sounds coming out of Nashville. Perfect notes, perfectly in tune. Perfect harmonies. Perfect instrumental parts. But where’s the soul? Where’s the emotion? I don’t care if there’s a “wobble” in someone’s voice. I don’t care if the notes are perfect. I’ll trade it any day for soul.

And while the production of Here With Me is that Nashville sound, Holly has soul. And some good songs. Overall the album is mellow but I really loved “Keep the Change.” What a great hook! This song was not written by Holly, but by Hilary Lindsey and Luke Laird. I love good hooks. This is the heart of country to me…except this song is not country. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s great, nonetheless. “I’m all cashed out on your lovin’/I’ve paid my dues, honey you can keep the change.” In decades of songwriters coming up with hooks, I can’t believe someone’s just come up with this.

So Holly Williams is now one of my new favorite female vocalists. She’s not country, but I like her.

In the spirit of sharing back, I’ll share with you one of my favorite country female vocalists. Her name is Brennen Leigh. I met her about three years ago at the Continental Club in Houston. She came up to one of my shows with a gal named Sunny Sweeney. I loved Brennen’s voice, but what hit me was my conversation with her after the show. Here was this 20-something gal that not only knew who Melba Montgomery was, she knew more about Melba’s recordings than I did. We hit it off immediately.

Since that time, Brennen has released a duet album called Holdin’ Our Own and Other Country Gold Duets with Jesse Dayton. An album of mostly originals written by Brennen and Jesse. It’s all grit and spirit and fire.

But what you want to hear is Brennen’s upcoming album. I know that maybe I shouldn’t write about something that’s not released yet that doesn’t even have a release date. Maybe I’m teasing you. Maybe she’s teasing you because you can listen to 2 clips from the new CD on her MySpace. Check out “What’ll I Do” (written by Billy Dee Donahue) and “The Box” (written by Brennen–note the harmonies by Jim Lauderdale).

Produced by Tommy Detamore (who also recorded Sunny Sweeney’s Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame), the sound is clear and crisp. And the songs? Brennen writes this mixture of bluegrass and country and old time mountain music with thoughtful insight. And her voice is a breath of fresh air. She’s country. And maybe that’s why the CD isn’t released yet. Brennen exists in the world of the independent musician. Still classified as a new artist, they hope to find a label with the belief of having their music promoted. But they don’t understand that labels aren’t spending much money on promotions. Labels are barely holding on, wanting to sign artists that will sell. And anything close to hardcore country doesn’t sell.

Brennen will eventually release her music. I, for one, will tell everyone about it–just like you told me about Holly. That is music promotions without the BS. No request from a band you don’t know to become their fan on Facebook. No request from a publicist for you to become a friend of their band on MySpace and then posting a comment about their album on your Comment section. No review from some music “critic” that you don’t know from Adam. Word of mouth from people you know is about the only thing that truly matters now.

Miss Leslie is an independent artist and a The 9513 columnist. You can visit her on the web at MissLeslie.com

SPIN

August 2009

HOLLY WILLIAMS

“Here With Me”

Mercury Nashville

Country royalty does hurtin’ songs her way

She might be Hank’s granddaughter, but Holly Williams doesn’t let the lovesick blues get her down on this twangy-yet-smooth sophomore effort. Between “He’s Making a Fool Out of You” – which advises, “Never lay your heart down for a lie” – and an aching cover of Neil Young’s “Birds,” Williams meet life’s knottier challenges without flinching, her yearning voice revealing just enough cracks and scars to reflect hard-earned wisdom. If it all sounds too serious, check out the acoustic ballad “Three Days in Bed,” a startling display of raw desire.

Jon Young

Holly Williams
Here With Me

Like her father, Hank Williams Jr., Holly Williams sometimes is overtly autobiographical. That's certainly the case on the loving tribute "Mama." (When she sang the song on The Tonight Show in June, her mother, one of Hank Jr.'s exes, provided harmony.) She even references Hank Sr. in "Without Jesus Here With Me." Throughout the album, however, a big step up from 2004's The Ones We Never Knew, the 27-year-old Williams establishes an identity apart from those of her grandfather, father, and half-brother, Hank III.

Williams' singer-songwriter approach is colored as much by pop and folk as country, but the spare, glitz-free arrangements suit her husky voice and intimate, often introspective songs. "A Love I Think Will Last," an engagingly upbeat duet with Chris Janson, is a sunny anomaly in a set that focuses more on life's darker moments, which Williams explores with grace and honesty.

- N.C.

Holly Williams puts her own stamp on a family legacy

Holly Williams is just your average major-label recording artist that also owns a clothing boutique in Nashville. Oh, and she also happens to be the granddaughter and daughter of two Country music legends - Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank, Jr. These days, the singer-songwriter is touring in support of her latest album, Here With Me, released on Mercury Records. Recently, I spoke to Williams as she returned from a stint on the road. While traveling is an inevitable part of an artist’s life, Williams has found a way to manage the road on her own terms.

“Most new artists on a radio tour do a 90-day bus thing and three cities a day,” she says, speaking by phone from her Nashville home. “I didn’t have to do that this time around, which was nice. I think it’s all in the personality - I actually enjoy meeting people and seeing new places. Some people hate traveling, but I love it.”

The follow-up to her 2004 debut The Ones We Never Knew, Here With Me seems to be a rather delayed second release. But in light of a 2006 near-fatal automobile wreck that injured Williams and her sister, Hilary, the album’s release is an accomplishment in many respects.

“The press has been great - so far, everyone seems to dig it,” Williams offers. “It’s so nice to have something out again - it’s been so long. When the first album came out, I was touring nonstop for a couple of years and the wreck happened at the beginning of 2006. I recovered from that and switched management and labels, so it’s been a long process.”

The 11 tracks on Here With Me were among many that Williams penned over a long period of time, giving her the luxury of selecting the album’s material from a large body of work.

“It was [written] very slowly only because I didn’t do the ‘I’m going to wait to write until I know I’m putting another album out.’ I write all the time whether I’m supposed to be recording for a record or not. ‘Mama’ is at least three years old and ‘Alone’ is three or four years old. Some are really old and some are really new. When I signed with the new label, it wasn’t like I had to go find songs. I had so many - in five years’ time you write a lot of songs. I have so much back material, I’m ready to start cutting the next one,” Williams says.

When performing songs that have been performed literally hundreds of times already, does Williams have to force the inspiration to sing them again?

“That happens when people have the one big hit. I’ve heard Lee Ann Womack [say] ‘I don’t know if I can sing ‘I Hope You Dance’ again. I haven’t had some huge hit where everyone knows only that one song. A lot of artists get in the place where they have one huge hit, so everyone wants to hear that one song. Since I haven’t had that, I still really enjoy playing songs on my first album and songs off this record. I try to stay away from writing trendy songs or songs in the moment. They’re mostly about emotional issues that people can relate to 50 years from now. It’s not written about 2009 and what we’re living in right now,” she says.

Given her pedigree, I ask Williams if she ever feels burdened by the weight of the Williams family legacy.

“People tend to not believe this, but I’ve never really felt like I’m carrying anything. When my dad became a musician, he was touring as Hank, Sr.’s son and wearing his clothes. He was literally a cloned version of him - everyone wanted him to be that guy. When he played his own songs, half of the crowd left. So he had a pressure to live up to ‘If I’m not as good as him, people aren’t going to like me.’ I started in this business playing my own acoustic gigs at any songwriter club that would have me. Management, label and everything were completely separate from my dad’s and I never came out a Hank’s daughter - word would get out, but I wasn’t touting myself that way. No one was requesting ‘Family Tradition’ and ‘Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound.’ So it keeps me on my toes and it makes me want to do my best, but not in a competitive manner. It’s more of an inspiration thing.”

Hank Williams Jr.’s daughter, Hank Sr.’s granddaughter makes foray into music business
By Janis Fontaine
July 17, 2009

Holly Williams has a great pedigree -- granddaughter of Hank Williams, daughter of Hank Jr. -- but she's trying to find her own path in country music. (AP)

It’s common practice in country music to sing about family, and Holly Williams’ debut country album does that.

But when you’re Hank Williams Jr.’s daughter and the granddaughter of the legendary Hank Sr., that adds another layer to your music.

That’s not why you should hear Here With Me (Mercury), though. Sure, you’ll get some insight into growing up as the daughter and granddaughter of icons, but you’ll also get great songwriting.

Williams was torn, initially, about announcing her lineage right out of the box.

“When I first toured, I didn’t say, ‘I’m Hank Jr.’s daughter.’ I wanted people to respect my music for what it was, to listen to the music with a fresh ear, not expecting something.”

On the mournful ballads, Williams’ warm voice cracks and quakes with emotion. On songs like “He’s Making A Fool Out of You”, there’s a reedy edge that cuts through the instrumentation.

Williams is poised to make her mark on country radio, but her first single, “Keep the Change” — one of the only songs she didn’t write — stalled without cracking the Top 40. She just released “Mama” as her second single; it debuted at No. 55 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

The song was inspired by her parents’ divorce. Williams’ mom, Becky, who was Hank Jr.’s second wife, was married to him from 1977-1983. They had two daughters: Hilary, born in 1979, and Holly, born 1981.

Since this is country music, you’d guess that it was a cheating song, or maybe a drinking song. It’s not. Consider the lyrics:

You could’ve been bitter, you could’ve hated him
You could’ve talked about the whiskey and the women
He could’ve done better but you loved him anyhow
Then you taught us all the power of forgiveness
Mama, you were smilin’ when you could’ve been cryin’ all night
Mama, you made me believe everythin’ was all right
Mama, you never wore your pain too thick
I’d like to thank you for this

“So many moms and dads put the kids in the middle and neither one of them did that,” Williams says of her family. “He never talked bad about her, although he wouldn’t have a reason to. He had so much respect for her, and he’d say, ‘The reason you and your sister turned out the way you did was because you had such a great mom.’ When he wasn’t around, she would just say, ‘He’ll be home soon.’ She always wanted to keep the relationship going. That was really important to her.”

These days, Williams’ relationship with her father is close.

“His reputation is the wild Bocephus party guy and he definitely has that side of him, but he’s a great dad and has a great heart, and just is a good caretaker.”

And Hank, who never had a day-to-day hand in raising his older daughters, finds himself raising a teenage daughter, Holly’s half-sister Katharine. Those trials inspired Williams to write “Let Her Go”, a lovely ballad.

“I wrote that about my little sister and my dad’s relationship,” Williams said. “He has a 16-year-old daughter and it’s his first foray into raising a teenager. When we were teenagers, he was touring so much, he wasn’t really involved in the ins and outs of boyfriends and cellphones and curfews and all that. So like any other dad he’s having a hard time but he’s doing a great job. She’s turned out to be really good.”

The chorus of the song is:

Let her go, let her fall, let her fly,
She wants to touch the world with her own hands,
let her go, let her love and let her cry,
If you trust her soon you both will understand,
she’ll come back home if you let her go.

“It’s just a little thing to say to dads,” says Williams. “If you don’t let them have their own experiences they’re going to rebel and probably go crazy. My mom was great about letting me be my own person. And the glass is half full all the time. My mother taught me that, and I always try to live by it.”

JULY 16, 2009

PEOPLE, NPR & “THE LATE, LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON”

CONNECT WITH MUSIC & STORY OF HOLLY WILLIAMS

NASHVILLE, TN – Newcomer Holly Williams is profiled in this week’s People magazine, dated July 27^th and on stands this Friday, July 17. The national publication proclaims “The singer-songwriter daughter of Hank Williams Jr. is making her family proud while wowing critics and Nashville with her country album Here With Me.”

The story of Williams’ music and life has also garnered the interest of National Public Radio, which will feature her Sunday, July 19 on “Weekend Edition”. The show airs in Nashville on WPLN from 7-9a.m. Central Time. Host Liane Hansen’s interview with Williams will air in the 8:30a.m. CT half-hour.

And making her fifth national television debut this year, Williams will perform on CBS’ “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson” Wednesday, August 12.

Here

TV/RADIO TUNE-IN:

“WEEKEND EDITION” on NPR–JULY 19

“THE LATE, LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON” on CBS–AUGUST 12

Holly Williams
Here With Me
CD ($9.98)

The legacy of the great Hank Williams continues through the music of his granddaughter, 28, whose second album marks her full bloom as both a writer and performer. Country without a hint of corn, it's a solid mix of soulful confessions, sensual daydreams, personal reflections and raw self-portraits that reveal a young songbird spreading her wings and finding her own flight path. Highlights include the autobiographical "Mama," which provides an intriguing glimpse into her mother Becky's brief marriage to Hank Jr., the intoxicating "Three Days in Bed" and "Keep the Change," a jaunty anthem to letting go and moving on.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

Holly Williams

Interview by Soren McGuire

You’ve heard of her old man and you’ve definitely heard of her grandfather. If not, you’ve sure as hell ended up on the wrong site on the internet. Meet Holly Williams, the 28 year-old daughter of Hank Williams Jr and granddaughter of country’s biggest legend, Hank Williams. With her second album, Here With Me, Holly once again sets out to prove that even though the blood of country royalty flows through her veins, she’s still just – in her own words - a simple singer/songwriter trying to build a fanbase one gig at a time.

It’s been close to five years since your first album came out. How come it took you so long to record your follow up?

The Ones We Never Knew came out in the fall of 2004 and all of 2005 was spent touring. In March 2006, right as I was about to go to Europe to do more shows, my sister and I were involved in a very bad car accident. That was a very long recovery and after about year and a lot of switching labels and management deals, a lot of time had passed since the first album. It’s funny, because it feels like I was busy the whole time, but it actually was a very slow process.

Did being involved in the accident make you feel that you perhaps wouldn’t be able to continue making music?

Not really with the singing and writing. Even if I was blind, it would still come natural to me. But my arm was casted up for a long time, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to play the guitar and piano again in the way I was used to. I actulaly opened a clothing store in Nashville in the meantime. I just wanted to have a backup plan. Like a sideproject, if I wasn’t able to play music like I had done before, but it never made me think that I would stop making music. It’s in my blood and I love it too much.

Did the accident change your perspective on songwriting?

Some of the songs on Here With Me are actually old songs I had written as far back as 2004. They were just waiting to get out. Songs like ‘Mama’ and ‘Alone’ were songs I had written before the accident, but I had a lot more to write about in terms of growing up, going through relationships, the car wreck and a lot of other different things. I’ve definitely written some more rootsy songs, kind of more country tinged, but I still feel like the lyrics are the same.

You must have been brought up on a steady diet of country music from a very early age?

The interesting thing is, even though my dad is Hank Williams Jr. I didn’t grow up with any music in my house. He kept it very separate. He never had the radio on, he never played the guitar around the house, so I didn’t grow up listening country. I found everything through my own music, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, you know, songwriters, and my first album actually wasn’t played on any country radio stations. It was more alternative rock stations and there is this little folk edge to my music.

Does that bother you, being from Nashville and being who you are, that country radio won’t play your music?

Well, with the new album, about half of them are playing it and the other half are saying that it isn’t really country enough. But there are radio stations in Nashville that are willing to branch out and say, we want to support you and play your songs. The press has always been good to me, and I’ve gotten a lot of support from other artists in Nashville. Keith Urban is taking me out on tour in a little while, so I don’t feel I’m getting left out.

Was it difficult releasing your debut album? A lot of the attention must have been on the fact that you are Hank Williams’ granddaughter?

I never really felt too much pressure. I think, being a female, it takes a lot of the pressure off. I’m pretty much just a simple singer/songwriter, very unlike my dad’s music or my brothers’, so people were always great at separating me from them. I was so happy to get the album out there.

There’s a song on the new album called Mama. It sounds very personal. What’s it actually about?

My mom and dad split up in the early 80’s and they never really brought any drama on us. My mother raised us as a single mom since my dad was on tour all the time, and she was just always very positive, always with a smile on her face, even through the split. She never brought any of that drama on us. We never got stuck in the middle and this is just my thank-you song.

When you write a song like Mama and chose to put it on a record, are you nervous that people like me are going to ask you these personal questions about your family and your upbringing?

Nah, not really and whenever I get nervous about stuff like that, I try to not let it change my writing. That’s what I love about other musicians, when they’re being honest. I want to keep that kind of honesty. But some people are afraid that they’re gonna be too honest or too raw. But I don’t let it bother me.

Any other songs on the album that are especially personal to you?

The song I wrote about the wreck, Without Jesus Here With Me, is about the miracle that we not only survived but also came out of it with our limbs. My sister was very close to being paralyzed, but that didn’t happen. They said, if she does live, she definitely wouldn’t be able to keep her legs, so it was just miracle after miracle and definitely a life-changing experience.

OK. We’ve waited long enough for this question. Do you ever get tired of being known as the granddaughter and daughter of two of country music’s biggest legends?

Even though I am asked that question all the time for obvious reasons, I think any other artists without a famous family member will get the same certain question again and again, just on a different level. You always read the same facts about someone, in interviews and such, and it’s an honour for me to be a part of my family. I mean, I’m blown away by the fact that I’m Hank Williams’ granddaughter! I’m a huge fan of his music and even though I never got to meet him, it’s just unbelievable to me that I’m related to him.

So it still freaks you out?

I’ve met everyone from Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder to Chris Martin from Coldplay and it’s so weird having these people come up to me and say “I can’t believe his blood is in your blood” and all those things. Especially y when I meet people, it freaks me out and I go, good Lord, there’s so much…he was a genius and I’m related to him!

Your brother, Hank III, is also doing well for himself these days. Did you argue about music when you were kids?

He’s my half brother, so we didn’t grow up together. We get along really great, we just don’t talk to each other that often. He’s unique, got a very strong following and I really like what he’s doing with the whole rockabilly meets punk, and I love to just hear him talk about it.

Final question – how’s your dad doing these days?

He’s great! My little brother and sister are 12 and 16 and he’s a dad to them. He tours a lot, but right now he’s just on the farm, fishing, enjoying his sort of leisure year.

By Chris Neal

July, 13, 2009

Holly Williams confounded expectations with her 2004 debut, The Ones We Never Knew—her brand of soft-spoken, introspective alt-country was a far cry from the rowdy sound of dad Hank Jr., the hard-core honky-tonk of granddad Hank Sr. or the hillbilly hell-raising of brother Hank III. The long-awaited follow-up finds Holly continuing to find her own path, pursuing a more fleshed-out and accessible variation on the quiet introspection of her first album.

Music City production veterans Justin Niebank and Tony Brown add a more radio-ready polish, but Here With Me is often just as starkly emotional as its predecessor. “Mama” is a plainspoken thanks from a child shielded from the muck of a messy split, while “Three Days in Bed” is just as frank in its carnality. A couple of the non-originals skirt too closely to cookie-cutter Nashville fare, but for the most part Here With Me is a reminder that the real Williams family tradition isn’t about a particular sound or style—it’s about being yourself and telling your truth.

Yep, those Williamses. Singer-songwriter Holly is the grandkid of Hank and daughter of Bocephus -- which she addresses in frank detail on songs like Mama. But ultimately, her boldest move is her decision to blaze her own melancholic folk and roots-pop trail instead of just following in the twangy honkytonk bootprints of her famous forebears. Ole Hank would likely approve.

Download: Keep the Change, A Love I Think Will Last

New Video: 'Three Days in Bed,' Holly Williams

Posted Jul 9th 2009

by The Boot Staff

Why We Love It: Never has a European vacation been so sexy! Sadly, it's not Holly acting out one of her own cross-Atlantic jaunts. "There's a true story in that I've always had a weakness for falling in love with international men," she told The Boot in our EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. "But I didn't literally spend three days in bed!" Still, a girl can dream...

NASHVILLE SKYLINE: CD Sales Down for Country, but Digital Downloads Up

New Releases Coming From George Strait, Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw

July 9, 2009; Written by Chet Flippo

Nashville Skyline

(NASHVILLE SKYLINE is a column by CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo.)

Not surprisingly, CD sales continued to decline in the first half of 2009. Alarmingly for the music industry, growth of sales of digital albums also declined. Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan report that combined sales thus far in 2009 of CD albums and digital albums are down 23 million units from the same period a year ago. (Digital albums include TEA -- track-equivalent albums, wherein 10 digital track sales equal one album.)

Country CD sales continue to slide, but download sales are up, with country leading all music genres in rate of increase in growth. Country album downloads increased to 2.35 million -- still a relatively low number, but the rise amounted to about 55 percent.

As expected, Taylor Swift's Fearless is the biggest-selling album of the year in any music genre, with 1.3 million CD copies sold in 2009. Fearless is currently selling about 5,000 digital downloads a week. Interestingly, Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night sold approximately 129,000 CDs in its debut last week and also notched 26,000 in digital sales.

This has been a comparatively lean year thus far for new country albums, especially by major artists. Albums are expected later this year from George Strait (Twang), Tim McGraw (Southern Voice) and an as-yet untitled album from Carrie Underwood. I'm particularly looking forward to Patty Loveless' Mountain Soul II, Rosanne Cash's The List (both in October) and Radney Foster's new studio album, Revival, coming in September.

Here is some music I've especially enjoyed thus far this year and that I find I keep going back to.

Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night: Of the major male country singer-songwriters, Paisley has proven to be the most adept at exploring the possibilities of modern country music. This is a solid work from beginning to end.

Billy Currington, "People Are Crazy": From out of the blue came one of the better songs of this year. And no wonder why: The song was co-written by Bobby Braddock, who has penned such works as "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Golden Ring" and "I Wanna Talk About Me." His co-writer is Wayne Jones, who includes Kenny Chesney's "Shiftwork" in his portfolio.

Buddy and Julie Miller, Written in Chalk: Two soulful songwriters and singers like no others. Add to that Buddy's musical virtuosity and you've got something special. More than once, I've heard a record producer say that the track he just finished recording on singer X will sound fine "once I rub some dirt on it." Buddy's music doesn't need dirt rubbed on it. It comes naturally from the soil.

Scott H. Biram, Something's Wrong/Lost Forever: This is, thankfully, unclassifiable. This is organic music that comes from dirt that's still crawling with worms. It's fascinating, dark music, unlike anything else you'll hear today. "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue," the most accessible song on the album, would be a radio hit if there were any justice in the universe.

Holly Williams, Here With Me: One of the smartest singer-songwriters working today, she crafts believable story songs with life and depth to them. It's never been proven that the gift of songwriting is hereditary, but, then, her grandfather is Hank Williams.

The Parks, Born Into It: Real sawdust-on-the-floor Texas honky-tonk from a Texas father and son with some real heft to the music. You can't pretend with this stuff, and they're not fooling around.

Steve Earle, Townes: The student salutes the teacher with a tender reading of Townes Van Zandt's work. It's been said that Townes' music is an acquired taste for some. I say it's an acquired taste only if the listener has never developed an appreciation of good songwriting.

Loudon Wainwright III, High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (due Aug. 18): Charlie Poole has come to be regarded as country music's first outlaw. He did not write, but he was country's first great song interpreter. Besides being the early popularizer of the banjo, Poole explored the very dark side of country and mountain songs. The equally rakish singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III got over having his huge radio hit in 1973 with "Dead Skunk" and went on to a career of quirky, individualistic and often dark songs. Now, Wainwright has immersed himself in Poole's life and work, writing nine new songs about Poole and his life and times and music in this two-CD package. And the result of Wainwright's own interpretations of Poole's songs, as well as his story, is pretty impressive. The album title comes from one of Poole's expressions. He often said that he would like to go out "high, wide and handsome." He died at age 39 in 1931, as a result of a dissolute life.

HOLLY WILLIAMS FORGOES THE SHADOW FOR THE SPOTLIGHT!

Jul 08, 2009 at 04:06 PM

Growing up in the shadow of two of country music’s most iconic figures could have provided an easy pathway for the daughter of Hank Williams, Jr. and granddaughter of Hank Williams, Sr. to follow in their footsteps, but Holly Williams took a giant leap forward and decided to tackle the intricacies of the music business solely on her own. “My management, my label, my first album - everything I’ve done totally on my own,” Holly tells us. “I started my own website and drove my mom’s suburban all over the country touring.” While the road to success proved to be a difficult task, Holly embraced the challenge and is finally reaping the rewards from the years of hard work. In 2004, Holly released her debut album through Universal South Records. As a result of poor advertising, the album failed to chart and only one single was released which led to Universal dropping Holly from their roster. Holly was quickly grabbed up by Mercury Nashville Records and has finally found her place amongst country music fans. The release of her second album “Here With Me” is quickly climbing the Billboard Country Music charts and is currently sitting in number 38 position. The first single from “Here With Me” is a song that hits close to home and explains the difficult journey Holly has faced with becoming an musician. “Keep the Change” is one of the few songs which Holly did not write, but she explains the song as one that everyone can relate to. “We’ve all been there,” Holly explains. “I’ve paid my dues, you can keep the change.” Hollywood Teen’Zine went backstage after Holly’s performance at the Sommet Center during this year’s CMA Music Festival. Immediately after the show ended, fans were eagerly waiting at the barricades to meet Holly and get an autograph and photo with her. Here is a selection of questions Holly answered for us backstage. When did you realize that you wanted to make a career out of making music? At seventeen, I picked up a guitar and learned a couple of chords and literally that afternoon two songs came out of nowhere. I went downstairs and told my mom I’m going to be a singer and I’m going to college; I have to do this. I worked in makeup part-time and played at any club that would let me play - just me and my guitar over and over. I was just very, very, very committed. It took a lot of work. Even though you’re Hank’s daughter, that doesn’t make people give you money and sign you to a record deal. I played for probably four years, touring, touring, touring, and finally got a deal five years after I started. What direction did you want to take this second album to make it different from your first album? The first one the songwriting was so similar, but was a little more produced, a little more polished. I really wanted this record to have some very raw moments on it. There is a song called “Three Days in Bed” that is just myself and the guitar, and I definitely was writing a little rootsier and I had my piano songs. I love to sing and play the piano. It’s definitely more mature, I would say, lyrically. I’ve been through a lot more and there’s a lot more that I had to say on this record. Where do you draw your inspiration from when you are writing your music? A lot of it is things around me. Some people watch movies and read books to get inspiration, but mine is just from people, whether it be myself or my family or friends. I’m always drawing inspiration from people closest to me and they kind of inspire my songs. Let’s talk about “Mama,” can you tell us about writing that song and the dedication to your mother? She was just an amazing mom and she never complained during the divorce, she was never bitter towards my dad, she never made us feel like we were in the middle, and she always encouraged our relationship with our dad. We got along with them great, me and my sister. It was just amazing. She really was a very strong woman and had two kids pretty much on her own because my dad was touring all the time. They split when I was three. My dad always said it’s because you have a great mom. They are still friends. I’m just really glad that they kept that relationship up. Who influences your music style? Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jackson Brown, Conway (Twitty), the kind of song writers of the 70’s, before I was born, which is kind of strange. I love all kinds (of music). I love Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert. I love Louis Armstrong. I love the Rolling Stones and Zeppelin. You know, I’m really influenced all over, but the songwriters are the ones that really get me. As a recording artist, you have so many things you have to do; with you writing most of your songs, recording them, laying down the track, finalizing the album, then promoting it, performing, meeting the fans and being here at the CMA Festival; what is your favorite part of the whole entire process? My favorite part is once the album is done and meeting the fans. I can’t tell you the relief when all this work is put into the songs, all this work in the studio, vocals, mixing, copying vocals. I’m the type of artist that is there for every second, for every guitar lick and piano, so there’s nothing like the feeling of having the package – I just got it this week – in your hand. All of the photo shoots are done, all of the thank you’s, all the lyrics, and just here it is. Giving something to the fans is my favorite moment; just handing it over going here’s the songs. Do you ever get nervous to go on stage and perform? Every now and then, but not for this (CMA Fest) kind of stuff. If I was doing a really quiet theater like the Ryman Auditorium where people were sitting and not talking it would probably make me more nervous. When there is a little more noise around I don’t get as nervous. I’m sure growing up with your family in the business you noticed that they had a lot of stuff they had to do in order to promote their record, in order to get it out there to the fans. Today you have the internet and this whole different platform to get your music out there nationally and internationally. How has that affected your music? It’s really been unbelievable, especially last night. I went on YouTube – I had a video come out three days ago called “Three Days In Bed” that I shot in Paris, France – and there has already been 103,000 views and I couldn’t even comprehend that. Like over 100,000 people have been watching my video; that is just wild to me. It is unbelievable how you can reach thousands of people by one click on the People Magazine website; they have been promoting me and they have like 1.8 million views a day or something crazy. It’s just great that you can get that instantly, you can show the fans your videos that you make and just get it out there real quick. After our interview ended, Holly was eager to get back out there and meet her fans. Here is a photo we snapped right after the interview of Holly greeting her fans, signing autographs and taking photos. Look for Holly to open for Sugarland on select tour dates this summer. Stop by our “On The Road” section to find out if she will soon be visiting a town near you. To find out more information about Holly Williams be sure to stop by and visit her Official Website and Myspace pages. You can purchase a copy of “Here With Me” by clicking here. Don’t forget to check out Mercury Records' YouTube account to see her brand new video “Three Days In Bed.”

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Q&A with Holly Williams

Photo Credit: Wendy Hu

Music is in Holly Williams' blood. Writing her first song at the age of eight is just one indication. Being the granddaughter of the legendary Hank Williams Sr. and daughter of Hank Williams Jr. doesn't hurt either.

I chatted with Holly the week before the release of her latest album, Here With Me. A solid compilation of moving ballads and timeless tales, Holly lives up to her family name. Read below as she fills me in on her songwriting process, her very own up-and-coming stylish boutique and the Nashville music scene.

How do you feel your new album is different from your past work?

This new album is definitely different in terms of just having the experience of touring forever, more studio experience and knowing what I wanted out of the sound. The songwriting didn't change that much. There are a few more songs that are a little rootsier, more country sounding. This time around I wanted to have at least two songs on the record that are totally raw. There is one song called, "Three Days In Bed" which is just myself and guitar, it's a live performance and then there is a Neil Young song called "Birds" which is just me and a piano. And then there is the big band stuff. I really wanted to have a mixture of everything production-wise. It's just songs over the last four years, what I've been going through.

Your song "Mama" is very emotional. Are you ever scared to put too much of yourself into a song because it is like writing a diary?

Yeah, it is definitely like a diary. We all get along great in my family, and all the issues were discussed. But, there are always songs that are very strange to play. Whether it's an ex-boyfriend that you wrote about who hears it, or a friend, or a family member, there just are always situations that feel sticky when you are playing songs. I can play them in front of thousands of people, but if there are the right two or three people there, that's when it can get really awkward. But that's what I love. My favorite artists were the ones that were really raw and sang what they wanted to sing without caring. I try not to let that fear of people hearing things change it.

You started writing at the age of eight in a notebook. Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

Yeah. I was actually looking at the notebook this morning because I was staying at my mom's house last night. The first song was called "Who Am I" and I really wanted a publishing deal when I was a little girl. I remember calling companies. I was very ambitious and tried to get my own stuff going. It was during the years of the Tiffany and Debbie Gibson reign and it was something I wanted them to cut. But, it was very introspective for an eight-year-old. I had a really normal childhood even though my dad was Hank Williams Jr. I lived in the suburbs with my mom, so church and school and field trips. I don't know where these songs were coming from, but they were all deeper and darker than most eight-year-olds would write. It's similar to some subject matters today.

Your father and grandfather are legends. Did you feel pressure growing up and following in their footsteps?

Well, I never did growing up because it was never discussed around the house. No one ever said to me and my sister, "You're all going to be musicians" or "Do you like writing?" Really, my dad never pressured me. He just said, "Whatever you want to do." I was interested in design at the time and didn't start playing guitar until I was 17. I was doing part-time modeling and I liked interior design. There were a million different things that I was interested in.

Since I'm ask the question so much it now makes me think, "Should I be feeling more?" But, there's a healthy amount of pressure enough to where it makes me want to work my hardest and write the best songs I can write. Never do I feel I have to be as successful as them because that's kind of impossible. My dad has had over 50 number one's and over 70 albums and Hank Sr. released over 200 songs by the time he was my age. These days, it's an album every year-and-a-half and the cycles are slower. So, it's enough pressure to have a healthy fan base and following, but it doesn't stress me out too bad.

You live in Nashville now and lived in LA briefly. What do you feel is the difference between the Nashville music scene and the rest of the country?

I lived in LA briefly when I was 22 and I went out there to try and learn how to play piano and I said, "I'm not coming back until I know how to play piano." The Nashville music scene, to me isn't really the country scene. I didn't grow up around Broadway or the honky tonks and never even played those places. So that's kind of the tourist music scene, you come and you go to Broadway and you see country music. But, the Nashville music scene, Kings of Leon and Mindy Smith and Ben Folds, that's the kind of music scene I was around when I was playing around clubs.

I think that if you're a local, you have some of the country music scene, but most locals don't necessarily go to Broadway on their nights off to listen to music because you can have it any night and we kind of take it for granted, for the country music. There's all kinds. There's the Christian music record labels are here and a lot of indie bands have gotten deals, The Features and De Novo Dahl. It's such a variety and that's what I love about living here. Everyone from Richard Marx to Sheryl Crow now has a place here, Michael McDonald, all the country artists, so it's a variation.

I love your necklace! Tell me about your boutique.

Well, it's called H. Audrey and it opened a year-and-a-half ago. There just wasn't much shopping in Nashville, there never really has been. There's the Macy's in the lower end and we don't have a Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barneys or anything like that and I'm a huge Barneys fan. I have everything from Alexander Mcqueen to Rag & Bone, Alexander Wang, Rick Owens, APC, just off center designers that I loved and felt like weren't getting a presence here. A lot of stylists come in all the time. The musicians, I think feel like they finally have a place to shop.

I try to carry a lot of unique pieces. This necklace is from there and these rings, I just try to carry statement pieces, whether it's one great jacket or one great shoe. It's my passion and music will always be my number one, but it's great to have this as a side project and to get off the road and have a few days of going to market, folding jeans and doing inventory. I mean it sounds boring, but it's nice to have it on the side. I do all the buying, just seeing what's coming new for spring and what's coming new for the next fall and finding new lines. The website is www.haudrey.com. You can't buy off it yet, but you can see what's there and call and order.

You're involved in so many things. How do you prioritize and multi-task and still have a life?

Well, it's interesting because when the shop opened I was off the road and making the album. I'm at the store every day, all day if I'm not busy with music. These days, now especially since my album is coming out, it's a couple hours of press each day and then I'll go to the store. It's definitely juggling now. I have a great store manager, so it can run while I'm not there, but I like to be there just because the racks look better.

When you're the owner, I guess you think of it as your baby. And I have great employees, and they treat it great, but it's hard. It's getting harder now that I'm getting busier. I have to do a lot of the buying online, which I don't like. I like to feel the fabrics and see the designers and I love to style people. Eventually, when I settle down and have kids and take a couple years off, that's going to be what I'm doing. It's definitely getting harder, but I'm still committed to both.

What's your songwriting process like?

I don't carry a notebook. It's all in my head. Songs always come to me at the same time, the lyric and melody. A lot of people sit down with their guitar and play chords and find a melody or they'll write lyrics and then come back to the instrument. But, for me it's always been at once. The single "Mama," I was driving down the road. A lot of times it comes when I'm driving or on a plane. It's always at once and very quickly. Usually a 10-15 minute period and it kind of gets out real quick.

If it's a song where it doesn't come quickly and I have to work on it, then it's usually not very good and not one that I want to keep. It's few and far between. I used to write a lot more in my younger days and I didn't get that much I liked. Sometimes I'll go two months without writing a song and then two will come to me in one day and it'll just all come out. So I never know. They're like little droplets from God that I never know when they're going to hit.

When recording, how do you decide what goes on the album? What happens to all the songs that don't make the cut?

Well, I think the different thing about my career is that most people go in with their A&R guy who helps them find songs and the label says, "Cut this many and then we'll choose." But I had an amazing amount of creative freedom here and the label's great about it. So I actually knew what we were going to cut and I just walked in and said, "Okay, today we're going to do these two and these three." And for this time, especially, we did not overcut. I think we overcut two songs and then took them off. I like to have things planned out before and go through [the songs] a couple weeks before the studio starts and see what are the favorites. Since I write most everything, I don't search as much for outside songs and have more of a grasp on what I want to record for sure. It's always about a two-week process before the studio starts to really nail it down.

What's going through your head when you're onstage performing?

I've been performing for a really long time. I started when I was 20 and I've probably done 1500 shows. So, I've finally gotten to the point where it's really just living in the moment and I'm so comfortable with the songs. Sometimes I can be in the middle of a song and think, "Oh my God did I let the dogs out?" I'm so comfortable with certain songs at this point that I really am just able to live in the moment and enjoy singing it. It took a few years to get to that point. I used to stare at my feet the whole time. I wouldn't look at the crowd. I didn't want to talk about the song, I was really nervous. Now, I'm usually really in the song and really in the middle of it and just telling the story and connecting with it. I'm always thinking about, "I wonder who's out there that can relate to this" or "I hope someone is familiar with this story and has lived through it." It's always about people being able to relate to it.

For more on Holly and her new album, be sure to visit her on MySpace and for all you fashionistas out there, check out her store H.Audrey.

Holly Williams: Here with Me