Doc Williams (singer)
Doc Williams | |
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| Born | Andrew John Smik, Jr. June 26, 1914 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 31, 2011 (aged 96) Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Band leader, vocalist |
| Years active | 1929–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Jessie Wanda Williams (aka Chickie Williams; died November 18, 2007); three daughters |
Doc Williams (June 26, 1914 – January 31, 2011) was an influential American country music band leader and vocalist.[1][2]
Born as Andrew John Smik, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio, United States,[1] and raised in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, he got his professional start playing with the Kansas Clodhoppers during the early 1930s. Doc eventually formed his own band, Doc Williams and the Border Riders.[2] The group went on the air on WWVA Wheeling in 1937; soon, with the addition of comedian Froggie Cortez and cowboy crooner "Big Slim the Lone Cowboy", and became one of the station's most popular attractions. He was associated with the radio station for over 40 years.[2]
In 1939, Williams married Jessie Wanda Crupe,[2] a singer who soon adopted the stage name Chickie Williams (February 13, 1919 – November 18, 2007). The Williams' were popular performers. Although the couple and their band the Border Riders recorded, performed live and appeared on the radio for over five decades, they never had a national hit.[2] Doc Williams founded Wheeling Records in 1947 and through it released all of his and his wife's albums; occasionally, they sang together, and sometimes with their three daughters.[2] Among his best-known songs are "Willie Roy the Crippled Boy" and "My Old Brown Coat And Me".[1]
Williams died on January 31, 2011 in Wheeling, West Virginia, aged 96.[3]
References[]
- ^ a b c "The Dead Rock Stars Club - 2011 January to June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 496/7. ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
- ^ "Country Music Legend Doc Williams Dies at the Age of 96". Wtrf.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
Sources[]
- Ivan M. Tribe (1998). "Doc & Chickie Williams", The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury (ed.) New York: Oxford University Press (pp. 588–589)
External links[]
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- 1914 births
- 2011 deaths
- American country singer-songwriters
- People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania
- Singers from Pennsylvania
- Disease-related deaths in West Virginia
- Songwriters from Pennsylvania
- Country musicians from Pennsylvania
- American country singer stubs