Donald Ray Williams was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number one country hits. His straightforward yet smooth bass-baritone voice, soft tones, and imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant". In 1975, Williams starred in a movie with Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed called W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings.
"If" is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates in 1971. Originally popularized by his group Bread, "If" charted at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single in 1971 and No. 6 in Canada. It also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, and one week at the top of the Canadian AC chart.
"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. At the time of Gibson's death in 2003, the song had been recorded by more than 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles, whose recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
"I'll Never Break Your Heart" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. The song was written by singer-songwriters Eugene Wilde and Albert Manno and produced by Veit Renn and Timmy Allen. It was released in the United Kingdom on December 4, 1995, as the second single from their self-titled debut album and was issued across the rest of Europe later the same month. It was later included on their US debut album and was released as their fourth US single in June 1998.
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in Cashbox magazine for two weeks.
"Never Say Goodbye" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was a track off the band's third album, Slippery When Wet, on June 15, 1987, and reached number 11 on the mainstream rock charts and number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Because it was not released domestically as a commercially available single, "Never Say Goodbye" was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100; Nevertheless, it reached number 28 on the Hot 100 Airplay survey.
"Honky Tonk Blues" was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for Charley Pride.
Dottie and Don is a studio album by American country music artists Don Gibson and Dottie West. It was released in March 1969 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins and Danny Davis. The album was a collection of duet recordings between Gibson and West. It was both artists first album of duets to be recorded. Among the songs from the project, "Rings of Gold" became a major hit in 1969.
"It Must Be Love" is a song written by Bob McDill, and recorded by American country music artist Don Williams. It was released in July 1979 as the third single from the album Expressions. The song was Williams' ninth Number One single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts.
"You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — also known simply as "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and produced by Don Law. It was first recorded in 1973 by Danny Thomas. Soon after it was done by Ray Price from his album You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me. The song enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre.
"Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with Gene Redd, peaked at position number 76. It appeared on the Christmas Singles chart for nine seasons, hitting number 1 in 1972. It includes a number of characteristics of Christmas music, such as multiple references in the lyrics to the Christmas season and Christmas traditions, and the use of a church bell type sound, created using tubular bells, at the start of the song. The song has been covered by many artists, including by the Eagles and Cher.
"It's Now or Never" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single in 1960. The song is one of the best-selling singles by Presley, and one of the best-selling physical singles of all time. It was recorded by Bill Porter at RCA Studio B in Nashville. It is written in E major and has a tempo of 80 BPM.
"Never Gonna Let You Go" is a popular song from 1982 written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann; Weil wrote the lyrics, while Mann wrote the music. It was first recorded by Dionne Warwick for her 1982 album Friends in Love, and then by singer Stevie Woods for his 1982 album The Woman in My Life. However, its best-known rendition was by Brazilian musician and bandleader Sérgio Mendes, on his 1983 self-titled album. That version was sung by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller.
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song was issued in January 1959, less than a month before Holly's death. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" reached number 13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1959, shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart". "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was Holly's last US Top 20 hit and featured the orchestral backing of Dick Jacobs. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's first posthumous number 1 hit.
"Tulsa Time" is a song written by Danny Flowers, and recorded by American country music artist Don Williams. It was released in October 1978 as the first single from the album Expressions. It was Williams' eighth number one on the country chart, spending a single week at number one and eleven weeks in the top 40. It was also recorded by Eric Clapton for his 1978 album Backless and a live version by Clapton from his album Just One Night became a #30 Billboard hit in 1980.
You've Got a Friend is the twenty-eighth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in August 1971 by Columbia Records. The album bears a striking resemblance to the Johnny Mathis album You've Got a Friend released that same month. Besides sharing their name, the two albums are both made up of covers of easy listening hits of the time, with 11 songs each, and the two albums have seven songs in common that are positioned in a similar order.
"Walkin' a Broken Heart" is a song written by Dennis Linde and Alan Rush, and recorded by American country music artist Don Williams. It was released in January 1985 as the third single from the album Cafe Carolina. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
You've Got a Friend is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on August 11, 1971, by Columbia Records. The phrase "Today's Great Hits" can be found above the title on both sides of the record jacket as well as both sides of the LP label as if to emphasize that this is essentially an album covering songs that were recently on the charts. This was a common practice of many vocalists of the period, so much so in fact that fellow Columbia artist Andy Williams also released an album titled You've Got a Friend in August 1971 on which he coincidentally covers seven of the 11 tracks that Mathis recorded for this album.
"Stitches" is a song by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes from his debut studio album, Handwritten (2015). It was initially released to iTunes via Island Records on March 16, 2015, as the third pre-order exclusive track and was subsequently serviced to radio via Republic Records on May 5, 2015, as the album's second single. "Stitches" is the first song by Mendes to appear on a Billboard airplay chart, debuting at number 36 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart in June 2015, and eventually reaching number one. It became his first top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number four. "Stitches" also reached the top 10 on the Canadian Hot 100, peaking at number 10. It also topped the Slovenian SloTop50 Chart, Scottish Official Charts Company and UK Singles Chart and reached the top 5 in Germany, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Visions is the sixth studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Don Williams. Released on January 17, 1977 on the ABC-Dot label, the album reached number four on the US Country Albums chart. "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend" was released as a single in 1977, reaching number one on the Billboard country singles chart. Visions was the first of two Don Williams albums released in 1977, along with Country Boy, which was released later the same year.
