Leona Williams New Patches

Leona Williams

Leona Williams, born Leona Belle Helton on 7 January 1943 in the community of Argyle, Maries County, Missouri, is one of the most respected pure country voices of her generation. The ninth of twelve children, she grew up in a deeply musical household; just three months after her birth the family moved to the county seat of Vienna, Missouri.

Her father, Vernon Helton, played the fiddle in every spare moment, while her mother Dorothy was at home on piano, organ and four-string banjo. Leona took up the mandolin at five and the guitar at nine. A battery radio brought the 'Grand Ole Opry' into the house — and with it her models Kitty Wells and Jean Shepard. Her greatest vocal inspiration, though, was honky-tonk singer George Jones: "If a girl could just sing like him," she thought, "that's what I wanted to do."

Her older brothers Wayne and Warren played fiddle in the Jefferson City dance band The Johnny Boys. Through them the fifteen-year-old won a guest singing spot on the radio and, in time, her own weekday show, 'Leona Sings', on station KWOS, for which she lined up the sponsors herself.

In 1968 Leona Williams signed with Hickory Records, whose head, Wesley Rose, advised her to build a lasting foundation rather than chase a quick hit. A number one eluded her, but the advice held good: as one of the great pure country singers, she commands the highest regard from fans and peers to this day.

Copyright © Bear Family Records