Holly Williams

Biography

Holly Audrey Williams (born March 12, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, the half-niece of Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr., half-sister of Hank Williams III, and half-aunt of Coleman Williams. Williams has released three studio albums: The Ones We Never Knew×The Ones We Never Knew5 October 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sometimes3:022Everybody's Waiting for a Change3:303Would You Still Have Fallen3:504Take Me Down3:045Between Your Lines4:016I'll Only Break Your Heart3:417Cheap Parades3:498Man in the Making3:309Memory of Me3:0010Velvet Sounds4:1611All as It Should Be3:0412Nothing More5:03 in 2004, Here with Me×Here With Me16 June 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1He's Making a Fool Out of You3:572Mama2:533I Hold On2:464Keep the Change3:345Let Her Go3:336Three Days in Bed2:527Alone4:278A Love I Think Will Last (feat. Chris Janson)2:519Gone With the Morning Sun3:3910Without Jesus Here With Me3:2611Birds2:35 in 2009 and The Highway×The Highway5 February 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Drinkin’3:432Gone Away From Me4:303Railroads3:434Happy4:095The Highway4:246Without You3:587Let You Go3:008Giving Up3:539A Good Man4:0210’Til It Runs Dry3:0911Waiting on June6:47 in 2013. The Highway was released on Williams' own label, Georgiana Records, and reached No. 146 on the Billboard 200.

Early life

Williams's mother, Becky, is a native of Mer Rouge, Louisiana, and was married to Hank Williams Jr. for a decade. She was born in Cullman, Alabama, and has an elder sister named Hilary. Her parents separated when she was young. At age 17, Williams began playing one of her father's guitars, and soon began writing songs.
Williams attended elementary school at St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Brentwood Academy and decided to pursue her passion of songwriting and continue playing guitar and piano. She purchased her domain name, recorded an EP, initiated a website, and booked herself at various Nashville clubs.

Career

Soon after signing with CAA, she performed many shows throughout the US and usually toured alone with a guitar and keyboard driving her mother's car across the country. She went to the UK to open for songwriter Ron Sexsmith with a backpack full of EPs and a guitar. After the release of her first EP in 2003, she signed with Universal South Records and toured with Billy Bob Thornton, Jewel, Train, Keith Urban, and Kasey Chambers. Universal South released her debut album, The Ones We Never Knew×The Ones We Never Knew5 October 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sometimes3:022Everybody's Waiting for a Change3:303Would You Still Have Fallen3:504Take Me Down3:045Between Your Lines4:016I'll Only Break Your Heart3:417Cheap Parades3:498Man in the Making3:309Memory of Me3:0010Velvet Sounds4:1611All as It Should Be3:0412Nothing More5:03, in 2004.
In March 2006, Williams was injured in a car crash with her sister Hilary Williams, and canceled her upcoming tour. Her sister was seriously injured, enduring 23 surgeries. Holly Williams' right arm and wrist were broken; she was unsure of when she would play again. She wrote "Without Jesus Here with Me" about her experience during the time of the car accident; it was released on her next record. Hilary Williams wrote a book called Sign of Life about her experience. Holly Williams made small musical appearances at this time, one of them joining John C. Reilly in Nashville, Tennessee, to sing "Let's Duet" during the release of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story on December 9, 2007.
After a long break Williams began playing guitar and writing songs again, she signed with Luke Lewis at Mercury Records. Williams' second studio album, Here with Me×Here With Me16 June 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1He's Making a Fool Out of You3:572Mama2:533I Hold On2:464Keep the Change3:345Let Her Go3:336Three Days in Bed2:527Alone4:278A Love I Think Will Last (feat. Chris Janson)2:519Gone With the Morning Sun3:3910Without Jesus Here With Me3:2611Birds2:35, was released in June 2009. To promote the album, Williams appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Chelsea Lately. People magazine named Williams' 2009 album "one of the top ten albums of the year". Billboard said it was "one of the best singer/songwriter albums to come out of Nashville". USA Today said "Hank Williams' granddaughter reveals a heart-on-sleeve intensity that might be grating were it not for the purity and potency of her milk-and-whiskey-kissed singing and the catchy clarity and integrity of her songs". She filmed a music video for "Alone" and "Three Days in Bed" in Paris.
Williams finished a six-week tour in Europe in early 2010, and continued the rest of the year headlining gigs and opening for other artists such as John Hiatt. After Bob Dylan called, Williams added her own music and lyrics to a half written Hank Williams Sr. lyric for a project entitled The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams that he assembled, released in September 2011. Jack White, Norah Jones, Merle Haggard and Lucinda Williams were alongside Williams for this project.
Williams was also a part of Let Us In, a project produced by Phil Madeira which includes artists singing their favorite Paul McCartney songs in tribute to Linda McCartney. Williams performed "My Love" from the Wings era. Steve Earle and Buddy Miller are also included on the album.

Williams was featured on the soundtrack for Flicka singing "Rodeo Road", written by Tom Douglas and Chuck Cannon. Tim McGraw (who starred in Flicka) named Williams, The Fray and Coldplay as his favorite artists in O, The Oprah Magazine saying "She has the ability to make you believe what she says, to make you feel vulnerable. She's intense and moody; she puts you in a time and place where you never would have imagined yourself—and then you're there." Mel Gibson met with Williams in Nashville and featured her on The Passion of The Christ soundtrack singing "How Can You Refuse Him Now", written by her grandfather.
Williams' third album, The Highway×The Highway5 February 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Drinkin’3:432Gone Away From Me4:303Railroads3:434Happy4:095The Highway4:246Without You3:587Let You Go3:008Giving Up3:539A Good Man4:0210’Til It Runs Dry3:0911Waiting on June6:47, co-produced by Williams and Charlie Peacock was released on February 5, 2013. She wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, which is common for her recordings. This album includes Dierks Bentley, Jakob Dylan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jackson Browne adding backing harmonies. The Highway was released to critical acclaim. American Songwriter magazine said "Williams has recorded her most accomplished, mature and world weary album. Even Hank Sr. would be proud." The New York Times stated "Williams is often closer to songwriters like John Prine or Bruce Springsteen, than the smiley Nashville mainstream." People Magazine gave the album three and a half stars and said the album was "sure to go down as one of the year's best country albums". A music video for "Drinkin'" aired on CMT networks.

Boutique

Williams' store "H. Audrey" is a women's clothes boutique in Nashville.

Personal life

Williams was married on September 27, 2009, to fellow musician Chris Coleman (who co-wrote three of the songs on The Highway) and they settled in Nashville, Tennessee. They have four children.