Editing Victoria Williams

{{Short description|American singer, songwriter and musician (born 1958)}}
{{Other people}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Victoria Williams
| image                 = Victoria Williams.jpg
| caption            = Victoria Williams in her yard c. 1990 
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_name          = 
| alias               = 
| birth_date                = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1958|12|23}}
|birth_place =[[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]],<br/>United States
| death_date                = 
| instrument          = Vocals, guitar
| genre               = [[Folk music|Folk]], [[folk rock]], [[Country music|country]], [[alternative country]]
| occupation          = Musician, songwriter
| years_active        = 1986–present
| label               = [[Geffen Records|Geffen]], [[Mammoth Records|Mammoth]], [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], [[Thirsty Ear Recordings]]
| associated_acts     = The [[Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers]], The Thriftstore Allstars, The Incredibly Strung Out Band, [[Pearl Jam]], [[Lou Reed]]
}}

'''Victoria Williams''' (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], United States,<ref name="Larkin90"/> although she has resided in [[Southern California]] throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with [[multiple sclerosis]] in the early 1990s, Williams was the catalyst for the [[Sweet Relief Musicians Fund]].

==Biography==
Williams was born in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]].<ref name="Larkin90"/> In 1986, she worked with then-husband [[Peter Case]] on his debut album, following a year later with her own debut, ''[[Happy Come Home]]'', produced by [[Anton Fier]], with an accompanying 28 minute documentary by [[D. A. Pennebaker]].<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5837/biography|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic biography.] Accessed June 21, 2008.</ref>  In 1990, she released ''Swing the Statue''. She also often appeared onstage and on record with the band [[Giant Sand]]. In 1993, she acted in [[Gus Van Sant]]'s ''[[Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues]]'',<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106834/ ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." IMDB Entry] Accessed June 21, 2008</ref> Van Sant also made the video for "Tarbelly and Featherfoot".

In early 1992, as Williams' career was beginning to take off, she was diagnosed with [[multiple sclerosis]].<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|pages=429/30}}</ref> Because she did not have [[health insurance]], an array of artists, including [[Pearl Jam]], [[Lou Reed]], [[Maria McKee]], [[Dave Pirner]], and [[Lucinda Williams]], recorded some of Williams' songs on CD for a benefit project called ''[[Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams]]''. This led to the creation of the [[Sweet Relief Musicians Fund]], a charity that aids professional musicians in need of health care. That year, Williams also released a new album, titled ''Loose''.  A second album, covering the songs of [[Vic Chesnutt]], was recorded for the Sweet Relief Fund in 1996 under the title ''[[Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation]]'', and Williams performed a duet with Chesnutt on the album.

Also that year, Williams appeared on ''[[Strong Hand of Love]],'' a fund-raising [[tribute album]] to songwriter [[Mark Heard]], who had died in 1992. That December she participated in a [[Christmas]] concert with [[Jane Siberry]], [[Holly Cole]], [[Mary Margaret O'Hara]] and [[Rebecca Jenkins]], broadcast over [[CBC Radio One|CBC Radio]] in Canada and [[National Public Radio]] in the United States and subsequently released on CD as ''[[Count Your Blessings (compilation album)|Count Your Blessings]]''.

In 1995, Williams released her first live album, ''[[This Moment in Toronto with the Loose Band]]''.  Williams ended the 1990s with an appearance on [[Jim White (guitarist)|Jim White]]'s ''Wrong Eyed Jesus'' (1997), a duet with [[Robert Deeble]] ("Rock a Bye") on ''Days Like These'' (1997), and 1998's ''[[Musings of a Creek Dipper]]''. She followed with ''[[Water to Drink (album)|Water to Drink]]'', in 2000, coproduced with [[JC Hopkins]]. She also appeared in the film ''Victoria Williams – Happy Come Home'', by [[D. A. Pennebaker]] and [[Chris Hegedus]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Pennebaker Hegedus Films|title=Victoria Williams - Happy Come Home|url=http://phfilms.com/index.php/phf/film/victoria_williams_happy_come_home_1997/|access-date=2011-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426044249/http://phfilms.com/index.php/phf/film/victoria_williams_happy_come_home_1997/|archive-date=2012-04-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Williams recorded "[[Glory, Glory, Hallelujah (Lay My Burden Down)|Since I've Laid My Burden Down]]" for the compilation album ''Avalon Blues: A Tribute To Mississippi John Hurt'' in 2001.
That same year her song "You Are Loved" was included on The Oxford American Southern Music CD #5 .

In 2002, she issued an album of standards recorded during the sessions for her earlier records. ''[[Sings Some Ol' Songs]]'' includes classics such as "[[Somewhere Over the Rainbow]]", "[[My Funny Valentine]]" and "[[Moon River]]". That year, Williams was also a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024722/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp|url-status=dead|title=Independent Music Awards - Past Judges|archive-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref>

Throughout her marriage to [[The Jayhawks|Jayhawk]] member [[Mark Olson (musician)|Mark Olson]], the pair regularly toured and recorded together as The [[Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers]], The Creekdippers, and Mark Olson and the Creekdippers, releasing a total of seven albums and one "best of" compilation. "Miss Williams' Guitar", a song on the Jayhawks' 1995 album ''[[Tomorrow the Green Grass]]'', was written for her by Olson and bandmate [[Gary Louris]]. Olson and Williams divorced in 2006 which also led to the dissolution of their musical partnership.<ref>[http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=154842&archive=25,50,2006 NOW Magazine. August 10-15, 2006.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022090456/http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=154842&archive=25,50,2006 |date=2012-10-22 }} Accessed June 28, 2011.</ref>

In 2006, she performed on fellow Creekdipper [[David Wolfenberger]]'s album ''[[Portrait of Narcissus]]'' and even painted the portrait of Wolfenberger featured on the cover. In that same year, she also appeared as a guest vocalist on Modern Folk and Blues Wednesday, the first solo album by [[Bob Forrest]] of [[Thelonious Monster]].

Williams also plays in a band<ref name=OwnWebsite>{{ cite web|url=http://www.victoriawilliams.com/live.htm|title=Victoria Williams Live Shows|access-date=2011-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528153253/http://www.victoriawilliams.com/live.htm|archive-date=2010-05-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> called The Thriftstore Allstars, a group of accomplished touring musicians who regularly play in [[Joshua Tree, California]]. The Thriftstore Allstars play what their MySpace page calls "loose drunken square dance country gone electric fantasmo".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jambase.com/concerts|title=Concerts & Concert Tickets|date=May 12, 2019|website=JamBase}}</ref>

In 2006, Williams was ranked No.&nbsp;89 on ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' magazine's list of the Top 100 Living Songwriters.  The description stated: "Louisiana-born Victoria Williams' music paints impressionistic, personal portraits of nature ("Century Plant"), of the spiritual ("Holy Spirit") and of common folk ("Crazy Mary"). Her songs—as distinctive as her high vibrato—dip heavily into the musical palettes of country, folk, rock, gospel and jazz. Although her debut album, ''Happy Come Home'' was released in 1987, Williams was largely overlooked until artists like [[Soul Asylum]] and [[Pearl Jam]] recorded her tunes for the 1993 Sweet Relief tribute/benefit CD, which helped pay medical bills in her battle against multiple sclerosis."

In 2007, she played numerous shows with M. Ward and is featured on the track "Bottom Dollar" on [[Christopher Rees]]' album ''Cautionary Tales'' (2007).

In early 2009, Williams commenced the recording of a new album of original material in Tucson with [[Isobel Campbell]] as [[record producer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rhythms.com.au/|title=Home|website=Rhythms Music Magazine}}</ref> In May 2009, Williams and Olson reunited with fellow Creekdipper Mike Russell for a one-off performance at an exhibition opening being staged at the True World Gallery in Joshua Tree, California. In July 2009, Williams embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand with Vic Chesnutt, but he died of an overdose of muscle relaxants on December 25, 2009. In the fall of 2010, she toured Spain and Switzerland with Simone White and in late 2011 Williams returned to the studio to record another vocal for [[Robert Deeble]] for the album Heart Like Feathers which was released in February 2012.

In December 2015, Williams had a [[Epileptic seizure|seizure]], injuring her back and shoulder.  Although she was expected to recover fully, the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund was seeking donations to help cover the associated costs, which her medical insurance again would not cover.<ref>{{Citation |last=Polanco |first=Luis |date=2015-01-26 |title=Sweet Relief Fund Seeks Donations for Victoria Williams' Medical Expenses |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6858204/victoria-williams-sweet-relief-musicians-fund-donations |access-date=2016-11-28 }}</ref>

==Discography==
{{see also|Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers#Discography}}

===Solo albums===
*''[[Happy Come Home]]'' (1987)
*''[[Swing the Statue!]]'' (1990)
*''[[Loose (Victoria Williams album)|Loose]]'' (1994)
*''[[This Moment: In Toronto with the Loose Band]]'' (1995)
*''[[Musings of a Creek Dipper]]'' (1998)
*''[[Water to Drink (album)|Water to Drink]]'' (2000)
*''[[Sings Some Ol' Songs]]'' (2002)
*''Victoria Williams & The Loose Band-Town Hall 1995'' (2017)

===Benefit / tribute album===
*''[[Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams]]'' (1993, [[Thirsty Ear Recordings|Thirsty Ear]])

===Other recorded appearances===
*''Peter Case'' by [[Peter Case]] (1986)
*"[[Don't Let It Bring You Down]]" and "Words" on the 1989 album ''[[The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young]]''
*"I'd Be Sleeping If My Baby Were Here" from ''[[The Name Above the Title]]'' by [[John Wesley Harding (singer)|John Wesley Harding]] (1991) (cassette only) 
*''Ramp'' by [[Giant Sand]] (1992)
*''Kindness of the World'' by [[Joe Henry]] (1993)
*[[Count Your Blessings (compilation album)]] (1994)
*''[[Glum (Giant Sand album)|Glum]]'' by Giant Sand (1994)
*''Orphans and Angels'' by [[Julie Miller]]
*"[[The Puppy Song]]" for the 1995 [[Harry Nilsson]] tribute album ''For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson''
*''[[Tomorrow the Green Grass]]'' by [[The Jayhawks]] (1995)
*"[[What Kind of Friend]]" for the 1996 [[Mark Heard]] tribute album ''Orphans of God: Thirty-Four Songs Written by Mark Heard Performed by Thirty-Four Artists''
* "God Is Good" with [[Vic Chesnutt]], duet on the album [[Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation]] (1996)
*''Wrong Eyed Jesus'' by [[Jim White (guitarist)|Jim White]] (1997)
* "Rock A Bye" by [[Robert Deeble]] (1997) duet from the album ''Days Like These''
* "Periwinkle Sky" on the 1998 album "[[Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music]]"
* ''Earthside Down'' by [[Robert Deeble]] (1998) backing vocals
*"Early" by Greg Brown (2002) from ''Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown''
*"My Lord and I", a song on the tribute album [[Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe]] (2003)
*"[[Songs for Oxygen]]" by [[Kevin Stetz]] (2005)
*''Do Your Thing'' by [[Papa Mali]] (2007)
*''Bottom Dollar'' by [[Christopher Rees]] (2007)
*"Highway 62 Love songs" compilation (2011)
*''[[Leaving Me Dry]]'' by [[Natalie D-Napoleon]] (2012)
*''Heart Like Feathers'' by [[Robert Deeble]] (2012)
* "[[Change Is Gonna Come]]", on the album [[Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven]] (2013)
*"Distant Light" in the album ''Your Desert My Mind'' (2016)  by [[The Mutants (musical collaboration)|The Mutants]]
*''The Pilgrim's Tale'' by [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] in the album ''AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T.Rex'' (2020) (with [[Julian Lennon]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010035924/http://www.victoriawilliams.net:80/}}{{dead link|date=May 2020}} (Web Archive)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160414185256/http://sweetrelief.org/program/victoria-williams-fund/ Victoria Williams fund at Sweet Relief Musicians Fund]
*[https://www.myspace.com/thriftstoreallstars Thrift Store Allstars]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060424090938/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/victoriawilliams Victoria Williams] at ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709050049/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/victoriawilliams |date=2008-07-09 }}
{{Victoria Williams|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Victoria}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American folk singers]]
[[Category:American women rock singers]]
[[Category:American harmonica players]]
[[Category:Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:People with multiple sclerosis]]
[[Category:Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Fast Folk artists]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Louisiana]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Mammoth Records artists]]
[[Category:Geffen Records artists]]
[[Category:Thirsty Ear Recordings artists]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]