My first two full-time on-air radio jobs found me in country music radio, first in Red Deer, Alberta and then in Prince George, BC. I had some earlier experience with what was then called country & western, through my Mom and Dad and my cousin Wayne’s country band. But my exposure was limited and carefully curated. I grew to love Waylon Jennings and appreciate Conway Twitty. But some of the nasally, twangy stuff made me climb the walls. John Anderson’s Swingin’, anyone?
Some of the sweetest, simplest and most memorable songs from that era came from Don Williams. He was The Gentle Giant, a low-key, straight ahead, nothing-fancy artist who played guitar and sang his songs without frills. He was a huge star and logged more than a dozen number-one hits, lodged somewhere in the sweet middle between western twang and country-fused pop. His songs were optimistic and authentic and so was he. I knew I was in for an enjoyable three minutes when one of his tunes came up in rotation. Williams died last week after a short illness. He was 78.
Throwback Thursday is supposed to be a photograph, but today I’m sharing a video of Williams’ giant hit, You’re My Best Friend.