Joe Williams

Joseph George Williams (born 1 July 1920, age ) is a Lyvenan singer best known for his songwriting work in country music from the mid-1950s until the early-1980s.
==Life==
===Early life===
Joseph George Williams was born on a farm on July 1, 1920 in Cranburyshire, Ayford, Lyvena. His father, George Earl Williams (b. 1900), was a farmer and his mother, Jenny Martha Williams, (b. 1901) was a homemaker. Williams had one older brother, John (b. 1918), and three younger brothers, Gregory (b. 1922), Samuel (b. 1924), and David (b. 1925).
After working on the farm most of his life, Joe finished school in 1938, and right after school, he went right into the Army. Williams served in the Tapanthian front of the Great War. During the war, in September of 1942, he was injured by a gunshot in the shoulder, and was moved to a medical center, where he would remain until March of 1943. In 1950, after 12 years in the Army, Joe was discharged. He immediately returned home to Cranburyshire and married his high school sweetheart, Dolly Johnson, on March 3, 1950. Then in June 1950, Joe and his wife Dolly moved to Ranbon, Datishire to become a country music artist.
===Early artistry===
Once Joe moved to Ranbon, he started to work in nightclubs for tips and began writing songs for other musicians. After working in clubs and bars for four years, he was signed to Red Lunar Records in 1954 and released his first album titled "Joe Williams' Songs." In 1955, Joe and Dolly welcomed their first son, James, and in 1957, they welcomed their second son, Joe Jr., and in 1959, they welcomed their 3rd and final son, Merle.
After many unsuccessful albums in 1967, he became one of Lyvena's best songwriters. He had many Top 10 and Top 20 hits for artists like Brian Connolly, Andrew Hangford, and Katherine Nixon. Williams, on several occassions, made it close to No. 1 on the charts, but never achieved the spot. However, he did come close with the song "It's Never Too Late Baby" released in 1975 by Jimmy Lauchson-Lee, which made it made it to No. 3 on the country charts.
After writing many Top 10 and Top 20 in the 1960s and 1970s, country music changed over to more modern artists such as Herbert Brothers, and Williams' music begins falling. But, after a few years off the charts, he came back with a few Top 10 hits in the mid-1980s with stars such as Wilson Northide and Harry Wilbird.
===Retirement===
After 40 years in the country music business, Joe retired to his family farm in Cranburyshire with his wife Dolly in 1990 where he is a hometown hero. In 1993, Joe bought a gas station in Cranburyshire, which he renamed Ol' Joe's, then in 2003, Joe's oldest son James bought the gas station from his father and kept the name. In 1999, his father George Williams died at the age of 99 in Kansas City, Missouri and on December 31, 2006, his mother Jenny Williams died at the age of 105 in Cranburyshire, Missouri.
Well into his 80s, Joe still did a few shows every year in his home state of Ayford, mostly at the Ayford State Fair in London. In 2007, at the age of 87 Joe performed for the last time at the State Fair and ever due to his failing health and age issue. On May 1, 2009, Joe's contract with LR-Records was terminated for unknown reasons. Joe had been with LR-Records since 1985 but hasn't released an album with LR or at all since 1990.
On July 1, 2020, Williams became a centenarian, turning one hundred years old. As he entered the last months of 2020, Williams ceased all of his live performances. On January 17th, 2021, Williams tested positive for COVID-19. Williams was hospitalized some months after. His doctors declared him to be in good condition, though media watchdogs feared he may be on his deathbed. Williams would be discharged from the hospital in March that year, though with lung problems as a result of COVID-19, leaving him with asthma that will most possibly affect him for the remainder of his life.
==Discography==
===Red Lunar Records (now part of Seaboard Studios; 1954 - 1974)===
*1954 – Joe Williams
*1955 – These Songs
*1956 – From Missouri to Innitberry
*1957 – The Road
* 1958 – Yesterday's News
*1959 – Joe Sings Hank
*1960 – Gospel Songs For Mama
*1961 – My Songs
*1963 – My Friends & Family
*1964 – Them Old Songs I Love
*1966 – Songs by Joe
*1967 – Joe Williams' Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
*1969 – Joe of 1969
*1972 – Then & Now
*1974 – Here I'am, Vol. 1 (best selling album)
=== Mellohi Records (1974 - 1984)===
*1975 – Guitars and Girls
*1976 – Maybe Next Time
* 1978 – Joe Sings Hank...Again!
*1979 – Well Here I'am, Vol. 2
* 1980 – Just Me & My Songs
*1982 – Songs I Wrote
* 1984 – Joe: Live
===LR-Records (part of Lyvena Radio; 1984 - 1990)===
*1985 – I Might Be Wrong This Time
*1987 – Time and Time Again
*1988 – Joe Williams' Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
*1989 – Here I'am, Vol 3: The Last Time
*1990 – That's All (final album)
Category:Joe Williams
Category:Music
Category:Singers
Category:Songwriters
Category:People
Category:Lyvenan people
Category:Lyvena