Don Williams Volume Two Explained

Don Williams Volume Two
Type:studio
Artist:Don Williams
Cover:donwilliamsvolumetwo.jpg
Released:January 1974
Studio:
  • Jack's Tracks (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • Jack Clement Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre:Country
Label:JMI Records
Producer:Allen Reynolds
Prev Title:Don Williams Volume One
Prev Year:1973
Next Title:Don Williams Vol. III
Next Year:1974

Don Williams Volume Two is the second studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Don Williams.[1] Released in January of 1974 on the JMI Records label, the album reached number thirteen on the US Country Albums Chart.[2] "Atta Way to Go" was released in 1973 as a single preceding the album,[3] and "We Should Be Together" and "Down the Road I Go" were released as singles in 1974.[4]

Background

Williams was no stranger to the country music scene, having been a member of the Texas band The Pozo Seco Singers from 1964 to 1970.[5] He left the music industry briefly, but returned in 1973 with his solo debut, Don Williams Volume One. Williams had signed with JMI records initially as a songwriter, but later at the encouragement of its founder, Jack Clement, recorded a full-length album produced by songwriter Allen Reynolds.[6] It was a strong debut, reaching number five on the 1973 Country Albums Chart,[7] and it had two top 20 country singles.[8]

Six months after the release of his debut album, the formula for success was repeated for Don Williams Volume Two, including producer Allen Reynolds, and many of the same A-Team Nashville studio musicians, notably steel guitarist Lloyd Green, fiddle player Buddy Spicher and drummer Kenny Malone.

Legacy

This would be Williams' final recording with JMI records, which was sold to ABC-DOT Records shortly after the release of the album.[9]

Allen Reynolds would go on to produce and write many successful country songs, including many of Crystal Gayle's biggest hits from the 1970s and 1980s.[10] The song "We Should Be Together," written by Reynolds, would go on to be the title track off of Gayle's 1976 country record.[11]

Track listing

from the original JMI Records release:[12]

Musicians

from the original album liner notes:

Production

from the original album liner notes:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Don Williams Volume Two. November 23, 2019. AllMusic. November 23, 2019.
  2. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs: Billboard 1944 to 2008. Record Research. 2009. 978-0898201772.
  3. December 15, 1973. Billboard Hot Country Singles. Billboard. 85. 50. 27. Google Books.
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 978-0-89820-177-2. 463–464.
  5. Web site: Pozo Seco Singers. Allmusic. October 30, 2019.
  6. Book: Carlin, Richard. Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. 25 February 2014. Routledge. 9781135361044. see URL.
  7. Billboard Album Charts. 1973. Billboard. October 30, 2019.
  8. Billboard Country Charts. 1973. Billboard. October 30, 2019.
  9. Book: Stambler and Landon, Irwin and Grelun. Country Music: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin's Griffin. 1997. 0312151217. New York, NY. 539.
  10. Book: Henderson, Lol, Stacey, Lee. Encyclopedia of Music from the 20th Century. Routledge. 2014. 9781579580797. 239.
  11. Web site: We Should Be Together. November 23, 2019. AllMusic. November 23, 2019.
  12. Web site: Don Williams Volume Two - Track List. November 23, 2017. AllMusic. November 23, 2019.