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Tex Williams

American singer-songwriter (1917–1985) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tex Williams
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Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985)[1] was an American Western swing singer and musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held the number-one position on the Billboard chart for 16 weeks in 1947. "Smoke" was the number-five song on Billboard's Top 100 list for 1947, and was number one on the country chart that year.[2]

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Life and career

He was born in Ramsey, Illinois, United States.[1] Williams started out in the early 1940s as vocalist for the band of Western swing king Spade Cooley, based in Venice, California.[1]

Williams' backing band, the Western Caravan, numbered about a dozen members. They originally played polkas for Capitol Records, and later had success with "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke", written in large part by Merle Travis.[3]

In April 1956, Williams appeared on the Chrysler-sponsored CBS TV broadcast, Shower of Stars.[4]

Williams died of pancreatic cancer on October 11, 1985.[1][5]

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Filmography

Williams and the Western Caravan appeared in these films:

  • Tex Williams and His Western Caravan (1947)
  • Tex Williams and Orchestra in Western Whoopee (1948)
  • The Pecos Pistol (1949)
  • Tex Williams' Western Varieties (1951)

Discography

Albums

Thumb
Williams collection album cover
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Singles

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  • A"The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down" peaked at No. 27 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
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Notes

References

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