Holly Williams Interview Part II: Here With Me And Here To Stay - Page 3

So proudly acknowledging her family’s legacy is important to Williams, but has her last name helped or hindered her career?

“Yeah, you know I’ve thought about it a lot and I really think it hasn’t really done either,” Williams said. “I guess, from the beginning, my dad has never made one phone call related to setting me up with meetings or anything. He was always very uninvolved. He said, ‘I love what you’re doing. I support it.’ But I never even wanted him to (get involved). I wanted to find my manager, my record label and my band, and all those things. I really wanted to do them on my own. ...

“It’s been cool; I’ve gotten to spend time with Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder and countless country artists and Neil Young and so many of my heroes that I would have never met had it not been for my family and for their adoration of the family.”

But by adding a few country elements, Williams doesn’t expect to win over everyone. Especially those who resist her softer, more sophisticated sound. “Right now, with this new album going to country radio, it’s the only time I’ve ever felt any kind of hindrance,” she said. “I’ve had people say, ‘Why did you suddenly decide at 28 to make an album?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’ve been doing this a long time.’ A lot of people don’t know much about me before this.

“So once they see that, they’re OK. But a lot of radio people have said, ‘She’s Hank’s daughter and we don’t want to support something that is just kind of made up.’ And they may think something else before hearing me play or meeting me. So I deal with that a little bit, but not until now.”

Williams, who plays acoustic guitar and piano, left most of the heavy lifting on this album to what she calls her “family of musicians.” She sings the praises of her session players, including drummer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young), bassist Glenn Worf (who tours with Mark Knopfler) and Tom Bukovac, who she calls, “probably the best guitarist in Nashville.”

Having people Williams has performed and recorded with in the past was important because, “I can say, ‘I do or don’t like that,’ and ‘Try this or try that,’ and they’re not mad at me and I’m not intimidated by them,” she offered.

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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