Lawton Williams

Songwriter Lawton Williams remains best remembered for <a href="spotify:artist:38EmEgXkgK51MT2tPY0EoC">Bobby Helms</a>' "Fraulein," a crossover smash that topped the country charts in the spring of 1957. Born July 24, 1922, in Troy, TN, Williams was the son of a sharecropper who moonlighted as a fiddle player with local string bands. A devout fan of radio's Grand Ole Opry, he worshiped <a href="spotify:artist:7heUyuJw3gZftFZRa1rV6M">Roy Acuff</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5ixB75BQR3ADoWQkcHQJTs">Gene Autry</a>, and as a teen taught himself guitar. While stationed in Houston during World War II, Williams befriended country singer <a href="spotify:artist:1sv41JLLdczDyPjHDvo2dn">Floyd Tillman</a>, whose insight and advice were instrumental in nurturing his latent songwriting skills. Williams also began performing, and in the late '40s cut a handful of little-noticed singles for labels including Sultan and Fortune. He spent much of the decade to follow co-starring on Dallas radio station KRLD's legendary Big D Jamboree, with unheralded stints on labels including Four Star, Coral, and Imperial. "Fraulein," written following Williams' ill-fated engagement to "a little blonde-headed German girl that [he] had met during World War II," not only launched his career but rocketed <a href="spotify:artist:38EmEgXkgK51MT2tPY0EoC">Helms</a> to national stardom, topping the country charts for four consecutive weeks and earning Country Song of the Year honors at the 1957 Billboard and Cashbox Awards.

A sequel, "Geisha Girl," hit number four for <a href="spotify:artist:46Unp6DY3Zmy7QS1Fx47yq">Hank Locklin</a>, and in 1958 "Color of the Blues" proved a huge hit for co-writer <a href="spotify:artist:2OpqcUtj10HHvGG6h9VYC5">George Jones</a>. Williams also continued recording as a solo act, signing to the Fort Worth-based Le Bill label for 1960's "Mama Doll." His straightforward, defiantly traditional country approach fared poorly in the post-rockabilly era, however, and outside of the 1963 novelty "Everything's OK on the LBJ," cut during a brief tenure with RCA Victor, he remained a stranger to radio. Williams' songs continued enjoying success via other artists, however, and in 1962 <a href="spotify:artist:69wzuykaVXlRS5KVygESvd">Bobby Bare</a> scored with "Shame on Me," followed a year later by <a href="spotify:artist:2Ev0e8GUIX4u7d9etNLTXg">Jim Reeves</a>' "Señor Santa Claus" -- other compositions of note include <a href="spotify:artist:3VQfHuqrRK1CNXR1V8PeR9">Gene Watson</a>'s "Farewell Party" and <a href="spotify:artist:46Unp6DY3Zmy7QS1Fx47yq">Locklin</a>'s "Paper Face." In the autumn of his life, Williams founded his own label, TIMA, and in 2003 issued the LP Mending Fences. He also reunited with <a href="spotify:artist:1sv41JLLdczDyPjHDvo2dn">Tillman</a> to record the classic "It Just Tears Me Up" for the <a href="spotify:artist:1sv41JLLdczDyPjHDvo2dn">Tillman</a> tribute LP The Influence. Williams died of respiratory illness on July 26, 2007, just two days after his 85th birthday. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi