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39-682: In the early 1960s, Don Williams and Lofton Kline performed together in the Corpus Christi area as a duo called The Strangers Two. At the same time, Susan Taylor was a student at W.B. Ray High School who had performed with a group of musicians known as the Corpus Christi Folk Music Society. Taylor began a musical association with another student, Michael Merchant. In the fall of 1964, Merchant headed off to college, leaving Taylor behind to start her senior year of high school. Taylor met Williams and Kline when

78-605: A 14-hour pop music show held at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens , featuring 14 top local bands. The following month, on October 2, the band supported Wilson Pickett at the Club Kingsway in Toronto. On December 11, The Paupers (together with Ottawa band, The Children) supported The Lovin' Spoonful at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. The group's live reputation began to spread and in early 1967, Bob Dylan 's manager, Albert Grossman , convinced Finkelstein to sell his interests in

117-667: A UK Tour. A much-loved country artist among British fans, he had his final UK tour in 2014. In March 2016, Williams announced he was retiring from touring and cancelled all his scheduled shows. "It's time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home. I'm so thankful for my fans, my friends and my family for their everlasting love and support," he said in a statement. Williams married Joy Janene Bucher in April 1960. They had two children. On September 8, 2017, Williams died in Mobile, Alabama , of emphysema . †Honorary former member;

156-603: A live wire. He was 29 years old. Prior to forming the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers , Williams served with the United States Army Security Agency for two years. After an honorable discharge, he worked various odd jobs in order to support himself and his family. It was with the group the Pozo-Seco Singers that Williams, alongside Susan Taylor and Lofton Cline, recorded several records for Columbia Records . He remained with

195-490: A modest local hit, as did the follow-up "If I Told My Baby". During August, the group appeared at the Canadian National Exhibition's under 21 club with David Clayton-Thomas & The Shays. As 1966 dawned, the band signed a new deal with Duff Roman's label Roman Records which issued the group's next single "For What I Am". A cover of "Long Tall Sally" followed in the spring of 1966, by which point

234-552: A smaller label, Certron Records, and released their fourth album, Spend Some Time With Me , in early 1970. It was a characteristically strong offering, but the album failed to chart. Taylor later remembered that the album was also the victim of poor timing, as the Kent State shootings in May 1970 took the air out of the folk movement. With the duo reduced to playing in increasingly small venues, they decided to part ways. Even though

273-582: A song he had recently written, called "Time." The group cut the track on a local record label, Edmark Records. Featuring wistful vocals by Taylor, the record became a regional hit in the San Antonio market, and then across Texas . Columbia Records signed the three and released the song nationally, peaking at #47 on the Hot 100 charts in April 1966. More impressively, "Time" peaked at #3 on Billboard' s Easy Listening chart. In Canada , "Time" reached #9 on

312-403: A week, sometimes on a 13-hour-a-day shift, and as a result became one of Toronto's tightest acts. After changing their name to The Paupers in early 1965, the group attracted the attention of local manager Duff Roman , who signed them to Toronto's independent label Red Leaf . In March 1965, the label issued Prokop and Marion's "Never Send You Flowers" as the group's debut single and it soon became

351-1166: Is also popular internationally, including in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Ukraine, India, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. In 2010, the Country Music Association inducted Don Williams into the Country Music Hall of Fame . Williams was born, the youngest of three sons, on May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas , United States. His parents were Loveta Mae (née Lambert; 1914 – 2007) and James Andrew "Jim" Williams (1898 – 1982). He grew up in Portland, Texas , and graduated from Gregory-Portland High School in 1958. After Williams' parents divorced, Loveta Williams remarried, first to Chester Lang and then to Robert Bevers. On July 20, 1963, Williams' eldest brother Kenneth died from electrocution when he accidentally touched

390-578: The CommonFolk (a folk group featuring Doug Bush, Ian Rankin and Bruce Whitehead). Mitchell quickly asserted himself as the group's new lead singer and chief songwriter with Skip Prokop, and debuted with the band at the Broom and Stone in Scarborough on August 14, 1966. Finkelstein signed the new line-up to New York City label MGM shortly afterwards and on September 24 the group made an appearance at

429-568: The Dixie Dancekings . Williams has had a strong influence over a variety of performers of different genres. His songs have been recorded by singers such as Johnny Cash , Eric Clapton , Ray Scott , Juice Newton , Leon Russell , Lefty Frizzell , Josh Turner , Sonny James , Alison Krauss , Billy Dean , Charley Pride , Kenny Rogers , Lambchop , Alan Jackson , Tomeu Penya , Telly Savalas , Waylon Jennings , Pete Townshend , and Tortoise with Bonnie "Prince" Billy . His music

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468-539: The Hot 100 charts at #97 in September 1967. In 1968, the group released its third album, Shades Of Time , under the name "Pozo Seco." Having tired of their creative differences with Johnston, the group recorded the album under producer Elliot Mazer. By this time, Pozo Seco had been reduced to a duo consisting of Taylor and Williams, backed by a Canadian band called The Paupers . Columbia made few efforts to promote either

507-580: The Night Owl for a show running from August 7 to 8 but broke up later that month. Mitchell briefly embarked upon a solo career, playing the folk circuit in Ontario and then worked as a producer for McKenna Mendelson Mainline , The Manhattan Transfer and Linda Ronstadt . Gerrard joined Luke & The Apostles briefly before forming Jericho in March 1970. Beal worked as a record producer and manager, and

546-716: The Universal Pictures movie Smokey and the Bandit II , in which he also played a number of songs. Early in 2006, Williams announced his "Farewell Tour of the World" and played numerous dates both in the U.S. and abroad, wrapping the tour up with a sold-out "Final Farewell Concert" in Memphis, Tennessee , at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts on November 21, 2006. In 2010, Williams came out of retirement and

585-423: The album or its lead-off single, "The Renegade," and neither charted. The duo returned to the studio to make additional recordings under producer Billy Sherrill , and although several singles resulted from those sessions in 1969, none made a commercial impact. Taylor and Williams left Columbia in the fall of 1969, having grown impatient with that label's failure to properly promote their material. They signed with

624-621: The city to cut its debut album with Rick Shorter , played another concert opening for Jefferson Airplane at Hunter College in New York City, and then set out for a series of concerts on the West Coast including several appearances at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium and the Monterey International Pop Festival on June 16. Back in Toronto in late summer, MGM issued the single "Magic People", which

663-596: The group added John Ord (b. 1945) from The Fraser Loveman Group and The Nuclear Tricycle on keyboards, who debuted with the band at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit early the following month. Internal problems, however, continued to dog the band. Following a final date at New York's Electric Circus running from August 29 to September 1, Prokop left to form Lighthouse , while Campbell joined Janis Joplin 's Kozmic Blues Band . The band's second album Ellis Island

702-501: The group had parted with Roman (who subsequently became program director of CKFH) and signed up with Bernie Finkelstein (later Bruce Cockburn 's longstanding manager). However, shortly after a show at the El Patio on July 24, 1966, Marion left and subsequently recorded a solo single before moving into production work and playing with The Last Words . In his place, The Paupers recruited Scottish émigré Adam Mitchell (b. 1944) from

741-475: The group until 1969; it disbanded the following year. After the Pozo-Seco Singers disbanded, Williams briefly worked outside the music industry. Soon, however, Williams resumed his career in music. In December 1971, Williams signed on as a songwriter for Jack Clement with Jack Music Inc. In 1972, Williams inked a contract with JMI Records as a solo country artist. His 1974 song "We Should Be Together" reached number five, and he signed with ABC/Dot Records . At

780-650: The group was defunct, Pozo Seco managed a final hit in November 1970, when its medley of The Beatles ' "Strawberry Fields" and "Something" briefly appeared on the Bubbling Under chart. Taylor recorded a solo album in 1972 and focused on songwriting for JMI Music . A successful songwriter, later going by the name " Taylor Pie ," her songs were recorded by artists such as Tanya Tucker , The Lewis Family , John Conlee , The Forester Sisters , Mickey Gilley , and Bette Midler . Shaw, with brother Rick, helped form

819-541: The group's first Top 40 hit. (DeShannon's version stalled at #68.) In Canada, "I Can Make It With You" reached #21. In December, Columbia launched their new single, "Look What You've Done," along with their second album, I Can Make It With You . "Look What You've Done," with Williams and Taylor sharing lead vocals, reached #32 - just as its predecessor single had done - on the Hot 100 in February 1967, and #33 in Canada. On

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858-466: The group. Grossman re-negotiated the MGM contract and signed the band to its associate label Verve Forecast. The group's debut single with Mitchell, " If I Call You By Some Name " was released and reached No. 31 on Canada's RPM chart. The single was followed by a well-received appearance at New York's Cafe Au Go Go from February 21 to March 5, 1967, supporting Jefferson Airplane . The group remained in

897-534: The height of the country and western boom in the UK in 1976, he had top-forty pop chart hits with " You're My Best Friend " and " I Recall a Gypsy Woman ". His first single with ABC/Dot, " I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me ," became a number one hit, and was the first of a string of top ten hits he had between 1974 and 1991. Only four of his 46 singles did not make it to the top ten during that time. "I Believe in You", written by Roger Cook and Sam Hogin ,

936-406: The latter were performing at a hootenanny at Del Mar College . Learning that they had compatible musical tastes and harmonized well, they decided to form a trio. Inspired by an oil field term denoting a dead well (Taylor's then-boyfriend was a geologist ), they called themselves the "Pozo-Seco Singers." During Christmas break in 1964, Merchant returned home and introduced the newly formed trio to

975-607: The lineup, which debuted at the Night Owl in Toronto on October 26–27 and continued to play locally to positive reviews. Gerrard, however, soon left followed by Mitchell in April 1969. The remaining members brought in James Houston (b. 1946), who had previously played with Parks in the Magic Circus, and bass player Mel O'Brien, and returned to the local club scene. Later that year, the Houston-led line up returned to

1014-591: The pop charts, and was #1 for 3 weeks on the AC charts. A second single, "I'll Be Gone", (also penned by Merchant with lead vocals by Taylor) stalled at #92 on the Hot 100 and #34 on the Easy Listening chart two months later. Both tracks were included on the group's debut album, Time , which was released in the summer of 1966 and peaked at #127 on the Billboard 200 . The well-received Time album and singles paved

1053-544: The popular folk group The Hillside Singers , famous for their song, " I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing ." Don Williams went on to a successful solo career in country music . Some of his early country singles on JMI Records were produced with Taylor's help. In 2021, director Elizabeth Ahlstrom released the documentary Nobody Famous , featuring the story of the Pozo-Seco Singers. Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017)

1092-569: The single to play the group's preferred track, "I Believed It All." Lacking any promotion, "I Believed It All" peaked at #96 in May 1967. Despite the hurdles it faced, it became a surprise hit on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, reaching as high as #8 in the spring of 1967. The group recorded several additional singles in 1967, including " Morning Dew " (b/w "It's Alright") and "Louisiana Man" (b/w "Tomorrow Proper"). "Louisiana Man" somehow managed to briefly nuzzle its way into

1131-462: The songs Shaw introduced to the group was "I Believed It All," which instantly became popular in concert. The trio wanted to record it as a single, but Johnston vetoed the idea and released it as the B-side of another song Johnston had written and had them cut, called "Excuse Me, Dear Martha." "Excuse Me, Dear Martha" stalled at #102 on the singles charts in March 1967. Some disc jockeys began flipping

1170-451: The strength of two Top 40 hits, I Can Make It With You reached as high as #81 on the Billboard 200 in the spring of 1967. Kline left the group after I Can Make It With You was recorded, due to friction with the group's producer Bob Johnston , and being tired of constant touring. Kline was replaced by veteran folk singer Ron Shaw, who toured with the group and recorded several singles with them following I Can Make It With You . One of

1209-519: The way for even more commercial success for the group. In August 1966, the Pozo-Seco Singers debuted their new single, the Chip Taylor ballad "I Can Make It With You." Although Jackie DeShannon released a competing version of this song at the same time, the Pozo-Seco Singers' version, with Williams on lead vocals, quickly became the more popular offering, peaking at #32 in October 1966, becoming

Pozo-Seco Singers - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-542: Was Williams' eleventh number one on the country chart. It was his only Top 40 chart entry in the U.S., where it peaked at number 24. It was also a hit in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Williams had some minor roles in Burt Reynolds movies. In 1975, Williams appeared as a member of the Dixie Dancekings band in the movie W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings , alongside Reynolds. Williams also appeared as himself in

1287-436: Was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame . He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number one country hits. His straightforward yet smooth bass-baritone voice, soft tones, and imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant". In 1975, Williams starred in a movie with Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed called W.W. and

1326-507: Was followed by an album of the same name. MGM then sent the group on a $ 40,000 promotional tour where they played 17 US cities in a month. The tour included an appearance at New York's Cafe Au Go Go opening for Cream , scheduled for September 28 – October 1 (but cut short due to faulty equipment) and headlining at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit with The MC5 in support on November 3–5, 1967. In November 1967, The Paupers' debut album, Magic People , peaked at US No. 178, but its modest success

1365-424: Was once again touring. In March 2012, Williams announced the release of a new record, And So It Goes (UK release April 30, 2012; U.S./Worldwide release June 19, 2012), his first new record since 2004. The record was his first with the independent Americana label Sugar Hill Records . The record includes guest appearances by Alison Krauss , Keith Urban , and Vince Gill . To accompany the release he embarked on

1404-440: Was overshadowed by Denny Gerrard's departure in early 1968. His replacement was bassist/vocalist Brad Campbell from Marion's previous group The Last Words. Around the same time, The Paupers also added (for live purposes) former BTB4 keyboard player Peter Sterbach, who quit after a month. In January 1968, a final single "Think I Care" was lifted from The Paupers' debut album, but it failed to chart. Prokop started to grow restless and

1443-474: Was released in the aftermath of the group's break up. A final single, Mitchell's "Cairo Hotel" (later recorded by McKendree Spring ), was released simultaneously, but failed to chart. In October, a new line-up of The Paupers featuring Mitchell, Beal, Ord, and original bass player Denny Gerrard (who had played with McKenna Mendelson Mainline in the interim) was formed to pay off the existing debt. Roz Parks (b. 1945) from Edward Bear and Magic Circus completed

1482-849: Was scheduled to be invited, but died before the invitation was extended The Paupers The Paupers were a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Toronto , Ontario , who recorded between 1965 and 1968. They released two albums for Verve Forecast Records and appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival . The group was formed as The Spats in Toronto during 1964 by ex-Riverside Three drummer Skip Prokop (born Ronald Harry Prokop; 1943–2017) and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Bill Marion a.k.a. Bill Misener. The other original members comprised lead guitarist Chuck Beal (b. 1944) and bass player Denny Gerrard (b. 1947). According to legend, The Spats rehearsed for 40 hours

1521-459: Was soon drawn into the lucrative session world; he duly appeared on Peter, Paul & Mary's single "I Dig Rock And Roll" and Richie Havens' album Something Else amongst others. The band continued to play high-profile dates and on February 24, supported The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Soft Machine at the CNE Coliseum in Toronto. This was followed by a second US tour. During July,

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