Personalities | Tex Williams | West Coast Scene | Country

(Vocals, guitar, bandleader, 1917–85)

One-time singer and bass player with Spade Cooley’s Orchestra, Sollie Paul ‘Tex’ Williams’ vocals were first heard on the Cooley hit ‘Shame On You’ (1944). It led to a recording deal with Capitol and, following disagreements with his boss, he was fired from the outfit. Disapproving of the sacking, most of the band followed him and were back in new business as Williams’ outfit, The Western Caravan. When Merle Travis wrote a talking blues, ‘Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette)’, Williams recorded it and it topped the 1947 country and pop charts, giving Capitol its first gold disc. He departed from Capitol in 1951 but continued recording on a variety of labels, with Cliffie Stone’s Granite outlet providing his final chart success, ‘Those Lazy, Crazy Days Of Summer’ (1974).

Styles & Forms | West Coast Scene | Country
Personalities | Bill Woods | West Coast Scene | Country

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

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