Zane Williams Explained

Zane Williams
Background:solo_singer
Birth Place:Abilene, Texas
Occupation:Singer-songwriter
Genre:Country
Instrument:Vocals, guitar, accordion
Label:Hack Circle, Be Music, Texas Like That Records, Hill Country Music LLC
Associated Acts:Jason Michael Carroll, The Wilder Blue, Cody Johnson, Pat Green, Luke Combs, Brent Cobb

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

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 Billboards 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.

2015: Texas Like That

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

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

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US Country
[12]
US
Heat

[13]
US
Indie

[14]
Hurry Home
  • Release date: November 14, 2006
  • Label: Be Music & Entertainment
The Right Place
  • Release date: November 1, 2009
  • Label: Be Music & Entertainment
Ride with Me
  • Release date: February 25, 2011
  • Label: Be Music & Entertainment
Overnight Success
  • Release date: June 4, 2013
  • Label: Be Music & Entertainment
Texas Like That
  • Release date: April 14, 2015
  • Label: Be Music & Entertainment
31845
Bringin' Country Back[15]
  • Release date: October 21, 2016
  • Label: Texas Like That Records
4622
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

YearVideoDirector
2013"Overnight Success"[16] Jeff Venable
2015"Jayton & Jill"[17] Lindley Atkinson

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.jlsc.com/winners/2005b/lennon_awards.php John Lennon Song Contest website Page for 2005 winners
  2. July 18, 2006, "MACY GRAY GIVES CASH AWAY: Singer combines with NAMM to encourage aspiring musicians." Found at Entertainment Magazine website and EurWeb website. Both accessed October 5, 2009.
  3. 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. Accessed October 5, 2009.
  4. http://www.houseofwally.com/zw.htm House of Wally website with recent 2009 tour dates
  5. Phillips. Jessica. January 18, 2010. Reviews. Country Weekly. 17. 3. 54. 1074-3235.
  6. Web site: TroubadourTX Home . troubadourtx.com . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110128080732/http://troubadourtx.com/ . 28 January 2011 . dead.
  7. Web site: Zane Williams Releases "Overnight Success" Single to Radio . Music News Nashville . July 30, 2013 . January 27, 2014.
  8. News: Country Album Chart Report For April 22, 2015 . Matt Bjorke . April 22, 2015 . Roughstock . Sales figure given here
  9. Web site: Single Spotlight: Zane Williams – Bringin' Country Back . August 10, 2016 . Chris Fox. Texas Music Pickers .
  10. Web site: Zane Williams Announces 'Bringin' Country Back' Album and Tour Dates . Jeremy Burchard . Wide Open Country . July 16, 2016.
  11. News: Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: October 31, 2016 . Matt . Bjorke . October 30, 2016 . Roughstock .
  12. Zane Williams > Top Country Albums . Billboard .
  13. http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f[0=ts_chart_artistname%3Azane%20williams&f[1]=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=zane%20williams Zane Williams ]. Billboard .
  14. Zane Williams > Independent Albums . Billboard .
  15. Web site: Bringin' Country Back Zane Williams . iTunes. October 21, 2016 .
  16. Web site: CMT : Videos : Zane Williams : Overnight Success. https://web.archive.org/web/20130823150328/http://www.cmt.com/videos/zane-williams/948546/overnight-success.jhtml. dead. August 23, 2013. Country Music Television. May 9, 2015.
  17. Web site: CMT : Videos : Zane Williams : Jayton & Jill. https://web.archive.org/web/20150721114530/http://www.cmt.com/videos/zane-williams/1198340/jayton-jill.jhtml. dead. July 21, 2015. Country Music Television. May 9, 2015.