Lucinda Williams

Williams was born in Lake Charles in Louisiana, USA. She showed a passion and talent for music from a young age, learning to play the guitar at just 12. In 1978 Williams moved to Mississippi in order to record her first album for Smithsonian/Folkways Records. It was titled ‘Ramblin’ and consisted of an assortment of covers. It received little attention, as did her follow up album made up of original material, which was released in 1980 and titled ‘Happy Woman Blues’.

Williams did not begin to receive a following until the 80s when she moved to California and in 1988 she finally earned some much deserved recognition with her eponymous album. The main single from the album, ‘Changed the Locks’ was an instant money-maker for the singer/song writer. It played on radios throughout the country and made Williams a household name. The next single off the album, ‘Passionate Kisses’, was even bigger and earned the singer a Grammy Award for best country song. However, her biggest hit to date did not come until 1998 with her album ‘Car Wheels on a Gravel Road’, which fused a number of genres including rock, blues, country and Americana. The album went gold and earned Williams yet another Grammy. This was her biggest breakthrough and, despite releasing a number of hit albums since, remains her greatest triumph. In 2002 Williams was given the honour of being named TIME magazine’s best American song writer.