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. It can be heard during the opening credits of the 2006 movie, "Thank You for Smoking". 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: