Zane Williams
Zane Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams performing in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Abilene, Texas |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, accordion |
| Labels | Hack Circle, Be Music, Texas Like That Records, Hill Country Music LLC |
Zane Williams (born 1977) is an American country music singer. He has seven solo albums and is also a member of the Americana band “The Wilder Blue”.
Career
[edit]Zane Williams is an anomaly in today's country music scene, a modern-day “throwback” who is equal parts bar-room entertainer and introspective poet. Williams was a finalist in three categories at MerleFest's Chris Austin Song Contest, claiming top slots in both the Country and General categories. "Hurry Home" was also selected as the $20,000 Maxell Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.[1][2] Williams released the album Hurry Home in 2006. He signed a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music in 2007. The album's title track was released as a single by Jason Michael Carroll in 2009.
Williams has toured extensively throughout the United States, including Missouri,[3] Alabama, and Texas.[4]
In January 2010, Williams released an album titled The Right Place, which he co-produced with Radney Foster. Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly magazine gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "If you're in the mood for true honky-tonk music, you're in the right place."[5] Ride with Me followed in 2011.
Williams has received radio airplay on country stations across Texas that led to his first entry on the Texas Music Chart with "Ride With Me", from the 2011 album with the same title. He is also one of the featured artists on Troubadour Texas, a television show documenting his rising career.[6]
In June 2013, Williams released an album titled Overnight Success. He wrote all 11 songs on the album, and co-produced it with Tom Faulkner.[7] The album debuted on the Billboard's Heatseekers South Central chart at No. 4. The video for the title track was on CMT Pure's 12-Pack Countdown for three weeks in a row and peaked at No. 2. The video has also been featured on GAC's daily countdown along with The Nashville Network featuring William's "Overnight Success" music video in their Top 10 Rising Stars.[citation needed]
2015: Texas Like That
[edit]In 2015 Williams released another studio album, Texas Like That, complete with 10 new self penned songs. The tracks in the album ranged from the romantic ballad "She Is" to the toe-tapping "Just Gettin’ Started", and the fan tribute song "Here’s to You". Among the stronger tunes are “Jayton and Jill” and the "Kansas City Sunrise".
Texas Like That was released on April 14, 2015, and debuted on Top Country Albums chart at No. 31 and Heatseeker Albums at No.8, his highest-charting album thus far, with 1,500 copies sold in its debut week.[8]
2016: Bringin' Country Back
[edit]In 2016, the title track from his next album, Bringin' Country Back, was released on July 8, 2016, as a single. Williams wrote all eleven songs on the album, and produced the entire album himself.[9][10] The album was released on October 21, 2016. The album debuted at No. 46 on the Top Country Album chart, and No. 22 on the Heatseekers Album, with 800 copies sold in its debut week.[11]
Discography
[edit]Albums
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [12] |
US Heat [13] |
US Indie [14] | ||
| Hurry Home |
|
— | — | — |
| The Right Place |
|
— | — | — |
| Ride with Me |
|
— | — | — |
| Overnight Success |
|
— | — | — |
| Texas Like That |
|
31 | 8 | 45 |
| Bringin' Country Back[15] |
|
46 | 22 | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
[edit]| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Overnight Success"[16] | Jeff Venable |
| 2015 | "Jayton & Jill"[17] | Lindley Atkinson |
References
[edit]- ^ John Lennon Song Contest website Page for 2005 winners. In 2006, Zane won Best Folk Award at the 2nd Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) with his song "Hurry Home". Accessed October 5, 2009.
- ^ July 18, 2006, "MACY GRAY GIVES CASH AWAY: Singer combines with NAMM to encourage aspiring musicians." Found at Entertainment Magazine website and EurWeb website[permanent dead link]. Both accessed October 5, 2009.
- ^ Shane Miller, "Award winning artist to visit final Coffeehouse: Zane Williams has found more than fortune in his songwriting," November 11, 2006, The Mirror of Drury University, found at Drury Mirror website[permanent dead link]. Accessed October 5, 2009.
- ^ House of Wally website with recent 2009 tour dates Archived May 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed October 5, 2009.
- ^ Phillips, Jessica (January 18, 2010). "Reviews". Country Weekly. 17 (3): 54. ISSN 1074-3235.
- ^ "TroubadourTX Home". troubadourtx.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ "Zane Williams Releases "Overnight Success" Single to Radio". Music News Nashville. July 30, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ Matt Bjorke (April 22, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For April 22, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure given here
- ^ Chris Fox (August 10, 2016). "Single Spotlight: Zane Williams – Bringin' Country Back". Texas Music Pickers.
- ^ Jeremy Burchard (July 16, 2016). "Zane Williams Announces 'Bringin' Country Back' Album and Tour Dates". Wide Open Country.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 30, 2016). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: October 31, 2016". Roughstock.
- ^ "Zane Williams > Top Country Albums". Billboard.
- ^ "Zane Williams". Billboard.
- ^ "Zane Williams > Independent Albums". Billboard.
- ^ "Bringin' Country Back Zane Williams". iTunes. October 21, 2016.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Zane Williams : Overnight Success". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Zane Williams : Jayton & Jill". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
