Tex Williams

Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) 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 Hot Country Songs 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.

Williams was born as "Sollis Williams" in 1917, in Ramsey, Illinois. He was the youngest of 11 children; his father "Bud" Williams was a fiddler who operated a sawmill and blacksmith shop in Ramsey. He learned folk and traditional music from his father and older brother. He began performing on a local radio station at age 13 and moved to Decatur, Illinois, where he performed on radio station WJBL (later known as WSOY).

Williams moved to Texas in 1938. He settled in Denison, Texas, and adopted the nickname "Tex". He played guitar, banjo and harmonica. He played with several bands, including Peggy West and her Rocky Mountaineers, Cliff Goddard and His Reno Racketeers, and Walt Schrum's Colorado Hillbillies.

Williams moved to Los Angeles in 1942. He eventually became a vocalist for Western swing band leader Spade Cooley. Williams moved to the San Fernando Valley in Southern California where Cooley's band was based. Williams was the featured singer on the song "Shame on You" which was released in January 1945, became a No. 1 hit, and spent 31 weeks on the charts.

In 1946, Capitol Records offered Williams a contract as a solo artist. After learning of Williams' plans, Cooley fired him in June 1946. Several of Cooley's musicians left with Williams and became part of Williams' band, the Western Caravan.

Williams and his band originally recorded polkas for Capitol Records. They had their first hit record with "The California Polka" which reached No. 4 on the Billboard folk chart. Williams' other polka releases included "Banjo Polka", "Roundup Polka", "Big Bass Polka", "Cowboy Polka", "Happy Birthday Polka", "Big Hat Polka", and "Johnstown Polka".

In July 1947, Williams and his band released the novelty song "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" written by Williams and Merle Travis. "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!" became one of the biggest country hits of all time, reaching No. 1 on the pop chart and spending 16 weeks at No. 1 on the folk chart.

Williams followed up with two additional hits in 1947 ("That's What I Like About the West" and "Never Trust a Woman"), and Williams' band placed eighth on the Billboard ranking of the top bands on the nation's juke boxes in 1947.

Williams' success continued in 1948 with six Top 10 hits on the folk/country chart, including "Don't Telephone – Don't Telegraph (Tell a Woman)", "Suspicion", "Banjo Polka", and "Life Gits Tee-Jus, Don't It?"

Williams also appeared in approximately 25 short movies, including Tex Williams & Orchestra in Western Whoopee (1948), Cheyenne Cowboy (1949), Coyote Canyon (1949), and The Pecos Pistol (1949).

Williams' success slowed after 1948; he did not have another Top 10 song, but reached the Top 20 with "(There's a) Bluebird On Your Windowsill" (1949) and "Bottom of a Mountain" (1966). He continued releasing new music into the 1970s and had his final chart success in 1971 with "The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down".

Williams also hosted the "Tex Williams Show", a live remote television show broadcast on local television from 1952 to 1957 from the Riverside Rancho in Los Angeles (3213 Riverside Drive).

Williams lived in Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, for the last 27 years of his life. He operated Tex Williams Village, a nightclub at 23755 N. San Fernando Road in Newhall. His nightclub opened in 1959, featured a large ballroom, a smaller "rumpus room", two bars, square dancing, and live music by Williams and other artists.

Williams died in 1985 at age 68 at the Newhall Community Hospital. Having gained fame for his song about the addictive power of cigarettes, Williams smoked two packs a day; his cancer began in his bladder and spread to his liver, and he ultimately died from kidney failure.

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