Lucinda Williams

Born January, 26^th, 1953 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lucinda is the daughter of poet and literature professor Miller Williams and an amateur pianist. Her father worked as a visiting professor in Mexico and different parts of the American South, before settling at the University of Arkansas. His daughter started writing when she was 6 years old and showed an affinity for music at an early age, and was playing guitar at 12. Williams' first live performance was in Mexico City at 17, as part a duo with her friend, a banjo player named Clark Jones.

By her early 20s, Williams was playing publicly in Austin, Texas and Houston, Texas, concentrating on a folk-rock-country blend. She moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1978 to record her first album, for Smithsonian/Folkways Records. Titled Ramblin', it was a collection of country and blues covers. She followed it up in 1980 with Happy Woman Blues, which consisted of her own material. Neither album received much attention.

In the 1980s Williams moved to Los Angeles, California (before finally settling in Nashville, Tennessee), where, performing both backed by a rock band and in acoustic settings, she developed a following and a critical reputation. While based in Los Angeles, she was briefly married to Long Ryders drummer Greg Sowders. In 1988 Rough Trade Records released the self-titled Lucinda Williams, which was produced by Gurf Morlix. The single Changed the Locks, about a broken relationship, received radio play around the country and gained fans among music insiders, including Tom Petty, who would later cover the song.

Its follow-up, Sweet Old World (Chameleon, 1992), also produced by Morlix, was a melancholy album dealing with themes of suicide and death. Williams' biggest success during the early 1990s was as a songwriter. Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded a cover of Passionate Kisses (from Lucinda Williams) in 1992, and the song became a smash country hit for which Williams received the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994 (Chapin also received a Grammy for her performance of the song). She duetted with Steve Earle on the song You're Still Standin' There from his album I Feel Alright. Williams had garnered considerable critical acclaim, but her commercial success was moderate. Emmylou Harris said of Williams, "She is an example of the best of what country at least says it is. But, for some reason, she's completely out of the loop. And I feel strongly that that's country music's loss." Harris recorded the title track from Williams' Sweet Old World for her career-redefining 1995 album, Wrecking Ball.

Williams also gained a reputation as a perfectionist and slow worker when it came to recording; six years would pass before her next album release, though she appeared as a guest on other artists' albums and contributed to several tribute compilations during this period. The long-awaited release, 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was Williams' breakthrough to the mainstream and received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Containing the single Still I Long for Your Kiss from the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, the album received wide critical notice and soon went gold. The single Can't Let Go also enjoyed considerable cross-over radio play. Williams toured with Bob Dylan and on her own in support of the album. In 1999, Williams appeared on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, duetting with David Crosby on the title track of the tribute album.

Williams followed up the success of Car Wheels with Essence (2001). This release featured a less produced, more down tuned approach both musically and lyrically, and moved Williams further from the country music establishment while winning fans in the alternative music world. She won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for the single Get Right With God, an atypically uptempo gospel-rock tune from the otherwise rather low-key release. The title track includes a contribution on Hammond organ by alternative country musician Ryan Adams.

Her seventh album, World Without Tears, was released in 2003. A musically adventurous though lyrically downbeat album, this release found Williams experimenting with talking blues stylings and electric blues. In 2006, Williams recorded a version of the John Hartford classic Gentle On My Mind, which played over the closing credits of the Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Williams was a guest vocalist on the song Factory Girls from Irish punk-folk band Flogging Molly's 2004 album, Within a Mile of Home, and appeared on Elvis Costello's The Delivery Man. She sings with folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the track Careless Darling from his 2006 release I Stand Alone.

In 2007, Williams released West, for which she wrote more than 27 songs. The album was released on February 13, 2007. It addresses her mother's death and a tumultuous relationship break-up. Vanity Fair praised it, saying "Lucinda Williams has made the record of a lifetime – part Hank Williams, part Bob Dylan, part Keith Richards …" In Fall of 2007, Williams announced an unprecedented series of shows in Los Angeles and New York. Playing five nights in each city, it was the first time a major artist would perform her entire catalog on consecutive nights. Since these shows other artists have imitated this idea in different variations, but to date no else has accomplished this exact feat.

Each night also featured a second set with special guest stars. Some of the many special guests included Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, Mike Campbell, Greg Dulli, E, Ann Wilson, Emmylou Harris, David Byrne, David Johansen, Yo La Tengo, John Doe, Chuck Prophet, Jim Lauderdale and Shelby Lynne. In addition each night's album set was recorded and made available to the attendees that night. These live recordings are currently available on her website, lucindawilliams.com, and at her shows.

In Spring of 2008, it was announced that the next album from Lucinda Williams wrapped recording in March. The new album is titled Little Honey and was released on October 14. It includes 13 new songs - among them, Real Love and Little Rock Star, the latter inspired by music celebrities in the press, like Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse. The album also includes a cover of AC/DC's Long Way to the Top and Rarity, inspired by singer-songwriter Mia Doi Todd. In July 2008, though Little Honey had yet to be released, Paste magazine.com listened to an advance copy and rated the duet between Williams and Elvis Costello on the song Jailhouse Tears as the #5 all time greatest country/rock duets. Her recent concert appearance at the Catalyst, Santa Cruz, contained an announcement by the city's mayor that 6th September would henceforth be Lucinda Williams Day.