Tex Williams - Roses & Revolvers

Sollie Paul Williams (August 23, 1917October 11, 1985), known professionally as Tex Williams, was an American Western swing musician from Ramsey, Illinois.

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 charts for six weeks in 1947. "Smoke" was the number five song on Billboard's Top 100 list for 1947, and was number one on the country chart that year.[1] It can be heard during the opening scenes of the 2006 movie, Thank You for Smoking.

Williams' backing band, the Western Caravan, numbered about a dozen members. They attained an enviable level of fluid interplay between electric and steel guitars, fiddles, bass, accordion, trumpet, and other instruments (even an occasional harp). At first they recorded polkas for Capitol Records with limited success. That was changed by the success of "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke" written in large part by Merle Travis.[2]

Williams died of pancreatic cancer on October 11, 1985

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Music

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• Hillbilly