Ron Williams
(Q)-Please state your name, your age and date of birth,.
Ron Williams-My name is Ron Williams. My birth date is September 20 1968. I was born in Nashville Tennessee.
(Q)-Your family history is one which has been deeply rooted in country music business. Your mother, country singer Leona Williams, was married to country legend Merle Haggard and then to country songwriting legend Dave Kirby.
Ron Williams-Yes.
(Q)-You have lived a life in which country music was a major component of your life. Why then, did you not begin pursuing a career in country music as soon as you graduated from high school?
Ron Williams- This business is such a hard business to break into. You spend a lot of time away from your family and you sacrifice a lot of those important moments when you want to be with your family. Now, when I graduated from high school in 1986, I began wondering about what to do for a living. So, I actually went to Bartending School. Well, it wasn’t long until I was back teaching bartending for a while. Then, I got into the bars and began bartending in country nightclubs. After a while, I moved to central Missouri, where my mom was living at the time. She’s originally from there. I then began working at a country music nightclub called Teasers.
(Q)-What was your role there?
Ron Williams-I was the bar manager. The club was a great country night club. But it wasn’t long until I began to find that I couldn’t even get my work done.
(Q)-Why?
Ron Williams-I found myself getting up on-stage and singing on-stage, night after night. I’d be singing with the band and I also had to work as the bar manager.
(Q)-How did this arrangement work out?
Ron Williams-At first it was alright. However, eventually it got to the point where, it began to cause some problems with my work as the bar manager.
(Q)-Why?
Ron Williams- When I would get up on-stage and sing with the band, the crowd would erupt in applause. I found myself getting up there on-stage and when the crowd heard the annoucement that I was going to get up there and sing, the place would really erupt in applause. I found myself thinking,”Gosh, I’m on the wrong side of this bar. (He laughs.) I need to be up there, on-stage, singing for a living.”
(Q)-When did you move to Nashville and begin pursuit of a career as a country singer?
Ron Williams- I moved back to Nashville in 1992.
(Q)-How did that situation come about?
Ron Williams-I got a telephone call one day from Nancy Jones, who is George Jones wife. She called and she told me that George had gotten a hold of a demo tape I had sang on. She then told me,”Well, George wanted to tell you, that he’s been riding around listening to your singing and right now, you are his favorite singer. He wants you to come down here to Nashville and meet with some people he knows.” Then I said,”When? I will be there!”(He laughs.) So in two days, I drove to Nashville and met with George Jones and we went to the record label that George was on at that time. While I didn’t get a record deal at the time, it sure lit a spark in me.
(Q)-What was the spark that motivated you?
Ron Williams-I realized that I needed to grow out of those nightclubs and maybe move back to Nashville and start pursuing this a little bit heavier. So, I went back to Missouri, sold my house and immediately moved to Nashville. Then, I started networking. That lead to my singing demo tapes and I then I decided that I was going to stay here forever.
(Q)-On your new album, “Natural Thing”, you have recorded material that is real, honest, traditional country music.
Ron Williams-Yes I have. Thank you for saying that.
(Q)-In your opinion, is the time right for the traditional country music and the songs on “Natural Thing”, to become more popular with the general public?
Ron Williams-Yes.There’s been some artists who have opened a few doors for a traditional country act like me, to get played on radio these days. Five years ago, that wouldn’t have been the case. In the last five years, the music (the country music genre)has leaned a bit back to more roots-oriented traditional country music. That has allowed me to get some interest going with my music. In some aspects, that has brought country music back to where it was twenty years ago. There is a certain segment of the general population that still likes real country music.
(Q)-Does your commitment to continue recording your own unique style of traditional country music remain strong?
Ron Williams-Absolutely. I have been doing the exact same thing with my music for fifteen years. In the last five years or so, it (the country music genre) has kind of been leaning back to let’s say, the more real country music and that has allowed me to have some increased interest in my music. So yes, the time is certainly right for some more traditional country music.
(Q)-Please explain in your own words, what is special about the music on “Natural Thing”.
Ron Williams- You’re painting a picture every time you go into the (recording) studio. I will go in (the recording studio) and record a song only if I believe in the song and only if I actually feel the music. Then, that way, I’m going to have a better record.
(Q)-Why is that so?
Ron Williams- Because these songs are great songs. Now I believe that people are going to pick up on this music and realize that this music is real. These are songs that make you feel something.
(Q)-Honest music.
Ron Williams-Yes. You’re painting a picture every time you sing a song. If someone can relate to that and genuinely relate to that song, then that is the greatest reward for what you do. I’ve had people come up to me and tell me that, when they heard the song, “Almost Home”, they got tears in their eyes because they lost their father a year earlier.
(Q)-Are you getting that kind of feedback about your new music that frequently?
Ron Williams-Absolutely. Folks tell me they can relate to my songs. And, to me, that is one of the greatest comments that you can get. It makes me look forward to getting that next record out there, because we’re going to do the same thing on the next record. We’re going to find some more great songs, songs about subjects that I believe in. And then, I am going to sing those songs straight from my heart. That is my style. I try to sing straight from the heart every time. I’m a country singer.
(Q)-You sing song lyrics about living life in the country. Please define what to you, a “country lifestyle” is.
Ron Williams- You’re close to your family, you are very family oriented. Things are at a slower pace then you would find in a big city. It’s a Southern way of life. That’s the country lifestyle to me.
(Q)-Define what country music is.
Ron Williams-Boy that’s a tough question. When you feel the soul in the music. Real music.
(Q)-Why does a listener who lives in a big city relate to your style of traditional country music?
Ron Williams-Even though someone lives a fast paced life, they’re still human. They still love their momma. They still enjoy the outdoors. You know, humans have a lot of things in common. There is still a common ground that one has with their fellow human beings and people can relate to that. Everybody loves, everybody hates, everybody feels sad, everybody feels happy. people can relate to that. I just think people have a lot of feelings that are similar.