# Tex Williams

Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held the number one position on the Billboard chart for sixteen weeks in 1947. "Smoke" was the No. 5 song on Billboard's Top 100 list for 1947, and was No. 1 on the country chart that year.

## Life and career

He was born in Ramsey, Illinois, United States. Williams started out in the early 1940s as vocalist for the band of Western swing king Spade Cooley, based in Venice, California.
Williams' backing band, The Western Caravan, numbered about a dozen members. They originally played polkas for Capitol Records, and later saw success with "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke" written in large part by Merle Travis.
In April 1956, Williams appeared on the Chrysler-sponsored CBS TV broadcast, Shower of Stars.
Williams died of pancreatic cancer on October 11, 1985.

## Filmography

Williams and the Western Caravan appeared in the following films:
* Tex Williams and His Western Caravan (1947)
* Tex Williams & Orchestra in Western Whoopee (1948)
* The Pecos Pistol (1949)
* Tex Williams' Western Varieties (1951)

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
| 1955 | Country and Western Dance-O-Rama No. 5 | | Decca |
| 1960 | Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! | | Capitol |
| 1962 | Country Music Time | | Decca |
| 1963 | Voice of Authority | | Imperial |
| 1963 | Tex Williams in Las Vegas | | Liberty |
| 1966 | Two Sides of Tex Williams | 26 | Boone |
| 1971 | A Man Called Tex | 38 | Monument |
| 1974 | Those Lazy, Hazy Days | | Granite |
| 1977 | The Legendary Tex Williams: Then... Now | | Corral |
| 1996 | Vintage Collections: Tex Williams & His Western Caravan | | Capitol |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Album |
| Year | Single | US Country | US | Album |
| 1946 | "The California Polka" | 4 | | singles only |
| 1947 | "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" | 1 | 1 | singles only |
| 1947 | "That's What I Like About the West" | 4 | | singles only |
| 1947 | "Never Trust a Woman" | 8 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Don't Telephone – Don't Telegraph (Tell a Woman)" | 2 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Suspicion" | 4 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Banjo Polka" | 5 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Who? Me?" | 6 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Foolish Tears" | 15 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Talking Boogie" | 6 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Just a Pair of Blue Eyes" | 13 | | singles only |
| 1948 | "Life Gits Tee-Jus, Don't It?" | 5 | 27 | singles only |
| 1949 | "(There's a) Bluebird On Your Windowsill" | 11 | | singles only |
| 1965 | "Too Many Tigers" | 26 | | Two Sides of Tex Williams |
| 1965 | "Big Tennessee" | 30 | | Two Sides of Tex Williams |
| 1966 | "Bottom of a Mountain" | 18 | | Two Sides of Tex Williams |
| 1966 | "First Step Down" | | | singles only |
| 1966 | "Another Day, Another Dollar in the Hole" | 44 | | singles only |
| 1967 | "Crazy Life" | | | singles only |
| 1967 | "Black Jack County" | 57 | | singles only |
| 1967 | "She's Somebody Else's Heartache Now" | | | singles only |
| 1968 | "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke – '68" | 32 | | singles only |
| 1968 | "Here's to You and Me" | 45 | | singles only |
| 1968 | "Tail's Been Waggin' the Dog" | | | singles only |
| 1970 | "Big Oscar" | | | A Man Called Tex |
| 1970 | "It Ain't No Big Thing" | 50 | | A Man Called Tex |
| 1971 | "The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down"$^A$ | 29 | | A Man Called Tex |
| 1972 | "Everywhere I Go (He's Already Been There)" | 67 | | A Man Called Tex |
| 1972 | "Glamour of the Night Life (Is Calling Me Again)" | | | singles only |
| 1972 | "Tennessee Travelin'" | | | singles only |
| 1972 | "Cynthia Ann" | | | singles only |
| 1974 | "Is This All You Hear (When a Heart Breaks)" | | | Those Lazy, Hazy Days |
| 1974 | "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" | 70 | | Those Lazy, Hazy Days |
| 1974 | "Bum Bum Bum" | | | Those Lazy, Hazy Days |
| 1978 | "Make It Pretty for Me Baby" | | | single only |
* $^A$"The Night Miss Nancy Ann's Hotel for Single Girls Burned Down" peaked at No. 27 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.